Chatty Cat
by jellybean88
Summary: Potions can be dangerous. Especially when they explode. HP/DM Slash
1. The Potions Mishap

**Authors Note:** Thanks a bunch to my beta, Julie. ) I reated this story M, although it might not get that way until the very end...if at all. I just wasn't sure that else to rate it as. xD  
Please Review.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Harry Potter series, not it's characters in any way, shape, or form.

_Chapter 1  
__The Potions Mishap_

The dungeon was dark safe for one little candle floating behind the potion master's head, casting his shadow into the midst of the slowly bubbling red potion. He added a pinch of ground doxie wings to the concoction and watched it foam up a little. Picking up a long ruler he brushed the excess foam off the top into a tub to use later. He stirred clockwise three times and sat back on the bar stool to admire his work. His blond hair fell into his eyes and with a flick of his head he brushed it aside.

The door suddenly banged open, scaring the blond half to death. He was off the stool and crouching behind his desk with his wand drawn before he could stop himself. Old habits, and all that.

"Christ, it's dark in here. Malfoy, where the hell are you?" came a voice from the door.

Draco Malfoy peered around his desk and frowned. Standing up, he brushed the dirt from his robes. "I'm over here, Potter. Do be a little more quiet," he drawled.

Harry Potter walked further into the potions classroom and promptly collided with a crate. "Fuck! How the hell do you see anything in here Malfoy?" He cast a strong Lumos and held it high above his head."

"No!" Draco shouted, stepping in front of the potion and extinguishing Harry's light with a flick of his wand. "This potion is sensitive to light, you idiot. Why do you think I'm in the dark?" Draco rolled his eyes. With another flick, the candle floated towards the other wizard at the door. "Just follow the damn candle."

After many bumps and curses on Harry's part, the brunet stood next to Draco and peered into the cauldron. He sniffed the vapors coming off the potion, instantly pulling his head back, nose scrunched up.

"What are you making?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"A potion I found in one of my text books."

Harry nodded. "What does it do?"

Draco looked at the potion, added a whole root, and let it simmer. He pursed his lips and finally shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea."

Harry frowned at the blond. "You have no idea?"

"Nope. The book was in Latin, and I didn't want to be bothered translating five pages of text on what it does. I just wanted to make it. Looked challenging."

"Soooo you have no idea what it does?" Harry asked again. Draco nodded. "Is it legal?" the ex-auror finally asked.

Beside him Draco huffed. "Well, of course it's legal. I checked that much at least. Wouldn't want you to have to return to your Auror ways. Now what the hell do you want?"

"Oh! Right," Harry said. He shook his head and grinned at his colleague. "I need you to make me a potion. Something that the kids can take, so they can bounce off the balcony without getting killed. For a bit of fun after midterms, you know?"

Draco stared at the ex-Auror turned Defense against the Dark Art teacher and thought for the hundredth time that he had gone completely mental. Letting kids bounce off balconies, who did that? With a sigh, he nodded.

"I'll see what I can do. When do you need it?"

"Next month if you can mange it?"

Draco nodded again. "I'll have it by then. Now make yourself useful and give me the blue container over there. It says wormwood on the label."

Harry slumped over to the shelf of ingredients, not wanting to spend another second in the dark room. He shifted quickly through the rows of neatly stacked blue contains – why they all had to be blue was beyond him – and return with the one Draco sought. Popping the cap open, he handed it to Malfoy over the potion.

The door banged open again. "There you are!" Harry and Draco both jumped, dropping the whole container into the potion in the process. Just before Draco could yell his warning about the lights, they all turned on. Snape, Hogwarts' newest Headmaster, stood in the doorway, looking a bit confused as Draco waved his wand frantically, trying to diminish all the lights at once. Harry stared at the potion, cocking his head to the side as it started to bubble and hiss.

"Uhm, Malfoy?"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Severus, help me turn these off!" Draco shouted, not listening to Harry.

"Malfoy!!" the brunet shouted, taking a step back from the potion, which was now foaming over its rim.

Draco turned around, glaring. "What?!" His eyes fell on the potion. "Oh, fuck. Potter, get away from there. I don't know what it's going to –"

The potion exploded. Draco was flung backwards by the force, smacking against one of the stone pillars. His head collided with the rock and he slid down to the floor, seeing stars. Snape was peering out from behind one of the students desks, turned on its side. Draco looked around but could see Potter nowhere.

"Draco, are you all right?" the headmaster asked.

The blonde pressed the heel of his palm to his forehead. God, that hurts. "Yeah," he said out loud. "I'm fine. Can't find Potter, though."

Snape cursed under his breath. He rounded the table and helped Draco to his feet. Together they walked to the remnants of the cauldron, looking around the floor for any sign of the wizard, even if it was a dead body. Nothing.

"Well since there is no body, let's hope that it means he's alive. I would hate to have to explain to everyone how the Savior of the Wizarding World was killed by potion accident," Snape said.

Draco chuckled hysterically, eyes wide. He would hate the _consequences_ that would follow. A bundle of black robes caught his eye. He let his head drop back and moaned, "Oh gods, I've incinerated him!"

"You haven't incinerated anyone," Potter's voice came from the middle of the bundle. A black cat wiggled its way out of the bundle backwards. It turned around and blinked up at the two wizards with bright green eyes. A small lightning bolt-shaped tuff of white fur on its forehead marred its other wise black perfection. "Merlin," the cat breathed in Potter's voice. "The potion shrank me!"

The wizards stared down at the cat, blinking several times. Snape turned away and coughed into his hand to hide his laughter. Draco's lips twitched and finally settled into his usual sneer. He crouched in front of the cat and shook his head.

"Not quite, Potter. It turned you into a cat."

"Pardon?"

Draco conjured a hand mirror and held it up for the cat. "You're a cat, Potter."

The black cat blinked at its reflection. Nose twitching, it leaned in, sniffing the mirror. One ear twitched. Finally the cat straightened itself again and looked up at Malfoy.

"I'm going to fucking kill you," Potter-cat said.


	2. Fluffy

_Chapter 2  
Fluffy_

The black cat paced the headmaster's office irritated; tail twitching from side to side, ear pulled back, and the hair on his back standing on end. Draco watched him from his seat by the window, wondering how one little animal could have that much energy.

Behind his desk, Snape watched the cat with raised eyebrows. Finally he said, "Potter, calm down."

The cat whipped its head around and glared. In three bounds and a leap he was on Snape's desk. "I will not calm down. This is all his fault!" One paw pointed at Draco.

The blonde gaped. "My fault?" he demanded. "How is this my fault?"

"You should have read all the instructions! You should have realized what the hell the potion could do!"

"I told you it was an experiment! Unlike you, I would have understood what that meant!"

The black cat jumped off the desk and into Draco's lap. With a snarl he flexed his claws and dug them deep into the blonds thigh. Yowling, Draco jumped out of his seat, hit the cat in the head to dislodge him and pointed his wand at the ball of fur who was now standing on the floor; back hunched, hair standing on end.

Snape stood up abruptly. "That's enough!" he barked. Pointing at the seat he commanded, "Sit." He glared at Potter. "And you had better calm down before that little heart of yours explodes."

Draco muttered something under his breath but sat down. Potter-cat slinked over to the windowsill and jumped onto it. If cats could have pouted he would have.

Snape cleared his throat. "Now then," he said. "I doesn't matter whose fault it is. Either way we have to fix this problem. We'll see Pomfrey. Hopefully she'll get this all fixed."

He rose and motioned for Draco and Harry to leave the office ahead of him. Harry stalked out first, tail high in the air. Draco followed close behind, taking longer strides then was absolutely necessary to kick at Harry's little legs. The cat hissed and jumped out of the way of a well-placed swipe.

"Git," he said over his shoulder.

"Arse," Draco retorted

"Children," Snape muttered, spell locking his door.

--

"Sorry, there is nothing I can do."

Harry groaned and dropped his head. Beside him, Snape heaved a sigh. Draco tittered, and quickly turned around to hide his smile.

"And why not?" Snape asked.

"Because it's a potion gone wrong, Severus," Madam Pomfrey said. "I don't even know if it's going to wear off or if Harry will be stuck like this until a counter potion can be made."

"So I could be stuck like this?" Harry squeaked.

Pomfrey smiled down at him. "I'm afraid so," she said, reaching down and petting his head gently. "But I'm sure that Severus and Draco can come up with a potion that will fix all of this."

Snape nodded. "Yes, Draco will find a potion that will fix this."

"What?" The blond turned around, several cotton balls in his hand. "Why should I have to find a damn potion? Why can't we do it together?"

"Because I have a school to run," Snape said firmly, "I don't have the time to sit in the dungeons and look through all my books to find something that would help; as much as I would like to. Besides, you know what you put into the potion in the first place."

Draco grumbled and threw the handful of cotton balls at Harry. One bounced off the cat's head, who didn't pay much attention to the attack. They were cotton balls, after all. Instead he was purring softly and arching into Pomfrey's petting.

Snape cast a tempus charm and frowned. "I suggest you get to work. I want this problem resolved by the time the students return to class on Tuesday."

"But—" Malfoy began. He quickly closed his mouth as Snape glared daggers at him. With a huff of annoyance he grabbed Harry by the scruff of the neck and carried him out of the Hospital wing.

"And don't kill him!" Snape shouted after the blonde as an afterthought. All he received was a hand raised in reply.

--

Draco watched Harry-cat winding his way around the students' seats, waving in and out of the chair legs, looking for any left over trace of the potion that Draco could use for analysis. He himself was sitting at his desk, the Latin potions book in front of him along with a clean sheet of parchment, quill poised over the sheet. He had already translated two pages, and neither one of them said anything about turning into a cat; even by accident.

"Potter, I don't see anything about turning into a cat in here," he said, turning back to the third page. "Although if you add a whole pixie, you can fly without a broom for at least five hours. Huh, interesting."

Harry jumped onto the desk, little cat legs scrambling for purchase. With a grunt and a final pull, he was on the desk looking down at the book. He raised his head to see Draco sneering at him.

"Graceful," the blond drawled.

"Shut it. I've never been a cat before. This is all new to me."

"Then it's a good thing the fate of the Wizarding world didn't reply on you being a cat. We'd all be doomed."

Harry swiped at his hand but only succeeded in smearing the ink. With a humph he jumped back down, leaving little ink paw prints on the stone floor. Draco rolled his eyes but went back to translating. After another hour he rubbed tired eyes and shook his head.

"Potter, this potion is for Herbology. When correctly mixed, you can grow a tree to a hundred feet in one day. There is no way it would explode and turn you into a cat," he said, leaning back in his chair.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked from a cabinet. He was lying flush against the floor, paws stuck under the cabinet, swatting at something. "I found your container by the way."

"Yes, I'm sure." Draco pulled out his wand and flicked it at the cabinet. "_Accio_ container."

To his satisfaction, Harry yelped and scrambled out of the way as the little blue container zoomed towards the blond, who caught it with ease. He glanced at the label and was about to place it on his desk when he pulled it close to his face again. With a groan he let his head drop on the desk.

"Potter," he said slowly. "Did you even read the label?"

Harry sat on one of the student's desk and rolled his eyes upward, thinking. "No," he finally said.

Draco raised his head and glared at the little black cat. "Well, no wonder you're a cat. You gave me the wrong container! I said Wormwood. Worm. Wood." He ground the last to words out from between clenched teeth. With one finger he peeled the curling label back. "You gave me sodding Wormwater!"

Harry shrank in on himself, letting his mouth drop open a little. "Oh," he muttered.

"Oh he says," muttered Draco. "Now I really don't know what the potion turned into. By the looks of it, you also managed to pour the whole container in. Wonderful. I hate to tell you this, but for all I know you could be stuck as a cat for the rest of your life."

Harry moaned. Sighing he said, "We'd best tell Snape then." With that he hopped off the desk and jogged out the dungeon, sure the potions master would follow him.

--

Snape leaned back in his chair, drumming his fingers. He stared at the cat and at his potions master, who were both standing before him a bit sheepishly. He heaved a sigh and sat forward.

"Just so I understand; Potter gave you the wrong ingredient, you poured the whole thing in by accident and the light may have botched up the potion even more."

Draco nodded. "Pretty much."

"Well then," the headmaster continued, "You'd better find a way to reverse this. And quickly too, please. I can't afford the children being without a good Defense teacher. Until then Potter will remain with you at all times."

"What?" Draco and Harry-cat said at the same time. "Why?!"

"Because although the Dark Lord may be vanquished, there are still Death Eaters out there that may mean harm to Harry. Since he's a cat, and probably can't do magic, he's a vulnerable target. I will not endanger him like that. And since you'll need him around anyways to test different potions, it will be best for both of you if you don't leave each others sides."

"Won't it look odd if a talking cat is following Malfoy around?" Harry asked.

Snape grinned at him evilly. "People won't know you're a talking cat. Until this is resolved we are telling all students and staff members that you have been called in on an Auror case; they'll believe it. We'll also tell people that Draco's mother send him a cat for his birthday since his owl died. Or something like that. People won't wonder."

Draco gaped at him. "You've thought this all out, haven't you?"

Snape shrugged. "Of course. Now get back to work. And Draco, make sure Potter doesn't leave your side. Think of him as a precious pet. Or… something." He dismissed them with a wave of his hand before turning back to his papers.

Draco walked to the door, Harry in his wake. He grinned down at the cat as they rode the spiral staircase back down. "I'm calling you Fluffy," he said.

Harry-cat stared up at him. His hair bristled. "You will not."

"Oh, I am. Come along. Fluffy, we have work to do."

"My name is not Fluffy!"

Draco sauntered down the hallway, robes billowing out behind him, looking forward to tormenting the little cat to no end.


	3. Lying to the Masses

_Chapter 3  
Lying to the Masses_

Draco Malfoy walked into his office, stacks of post-it notes in his hands. In his opinion they were brilliant inventions; not that he would ever admit that out loud. He deposited them on his table and looked around, spotting Harry in his favorite sunny spot; a shaft of sunlight that fell over the lowest shelf in his bookcase.

"Are you going to just lay around again?" he asked the cat.

One of Harry's ears twitched. "Why? Are we doing something important today?"

"No, but your behavior is pathetic. Do something besides lying around. You're going to get fat otherwise. And a potion won't fix that problem," he said with a sneer.

He sat behind his desk and charmed several books towards himself. Casting one last glance over at Potter, he began to read, jotting down notes on pieces of parchment and the sticky notes as he went.

By the time he closed the last book, Harry had moved away from the bookshelf with the sunlight and was lying on the stone floor. Draco rubbed at his closed eye with the balls of his palms. He could swear he had read some of the books at least twice in the past three days. But still, none of them yielded any answers. And the blonde couldn't continue testing experimental potions on Potter. As much fun as it had been to see the cat turn pink and grow bunny ears, the potion could have also killed him.

Draco stood up and strode into his private ingredients storeroom. He plucked several bottles and pouches from the shelves that lined the walls and walked back out, a cauldron levitating in his wake.

"What are you making now?" Harry asked. With a stretch and a yawn he rolled over, stood up and walked over to the potions master.

"I'm going to remake the potion that caused this mess." Draco cleared his desk with a flick of his wand and dumped everything on its surface. "But this time when I'm done, hopefully we'll be able to see what it would have done had it remained stable."

Harry jumped onto the table and looked into the cauldron. "But won't adding all the other ingredients change the potion?"

"Of course," Draco scooped Harry up and placed him back on the floor. "That's why I'm not adding the rest. Just… stay out of my way and trust me with this, okay?"

--

"Is it done yet?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"No." Draco stirred the potion carefully and added a root. He could hear Potter pacing behind him.

"How about now?" the cat asked.

"For Merlin's sake, Potter! You asked me that not a minute ago. No, it's not done yet. I will let you know when it is."

Harry huffed and wound his way around Draco's legs. The blonde wasn't sure if the gesture was supposed to calm the cat down or if it was a subtle hint for him to work faster. He ignored it and added the whole container of Wormwater; cringing as he watched ten Galleons disappear just like that. He placed a lid over the whole thing and ignited the sconces furthest from him.

"Is it–" Harry began.

"No!" Draco nearly shouted. "It's not done yet. And it won't be done until after dinner tonight. So quit asking me. Why don't you roam the halls or something? Go into the sunshine, perhaps? Kill a bird or a mouse? Do something, for the love of god!"

Harry's ears drooped. "But Mrs. Norris is outside," he said, voice low as if afraid someone would hear him.

"What's your point?" Draco asked. He left his office and spell locked the door, sticking a note—Caution! Dangerous Potion fermenting. Will hex **all** trespassers—to it as he turned away.

"Mrs. Norris has this unhealthy obsession with me," Harry continued. "She followed me around all bloody day yesterday. It was creepy as hell."

Draco snorted. "Maybe she just thought you were up to no good. Maybe she could smell the Potterness on you."

Harry grumbled something under his breath and trotted ahead of the blond. Draco stared at the cats tail and with a quick flick and silent incantation, made a green bow appear on its tip. Harry turned his head and stared at it.

"Take the bow off," he said.

"But how will I recognize you when you go romping about outside? Some of the other students have black cats after all." The blonde sneered.

"How many of them can talk?! Just take the damn bow off."

Draco shook his head. With a small snarl, Harry began turning in circles trying to bite at the bow so he could take it off himself. He only succeeded in making himself dizzy. Draco was in the middle of gasping something out between laughter, when the door opened and Snape strode into the room.

"Have you come up with anything?" he asked without preamble. He looked down at the dizzy cat and green bow and raised his eyebrows. "Should I even ask?"

Draco shook his head. "I haven't found anything yet, although hopefully by this evening I should be able to tell you something."

--

Draco stared out at the great hall, scanning over the smiling faces of the returning students. He poked unseeingly at his piece of chocolate pie, only vaguely aware that the substitute Defense teacher was jabbering his ear off. He could feel Potter sitting by his feet, eating his own dinner.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Snape rise to his feet. The hall immediately fell silent. "As many of you have probably noticed, Professor Potter is not with us tonight," he began. "He has been called upon by the Minister to help on a pending Auror case. Until he returns, Mrs. Simmons will teach Defense."

As soon as Snape sat down, the hall erupted in murmurs. After all, it wasn't everyday that one of their teachers was asked to do something so exciting. Harry scrambled onto Draco's lap and tilted his head up to look at the blond, and probably to hide his moving mouth.

"Do you think this will create problems?"

Draco shrugged. "Not more problems that you being a cat would create," he replied. Dipping his finger into the chocolate on the cake, he dropped a large dollop on Harry's nose and held his paws down.

"You know, others would consider that animal cruelty," Snape told him, leaning across the table a bit.

"I know," Draco said with a chuckle, watching Harry struggle to lick the mouse off his nose. "But it's just so much fun. I'm getting a year worth of torment in now, while I still can. Ouch!" he yowled, letting go off the cat's paws. He stuck his left index finger into his mouth, nursing the bite. Maybe tormenting something with claws and teeth was such a good idea after all.


	4. Attack of the Hand

**Authors Note:** I didn't think this story would go over so well. xD Thanks a bunch to everyone that has read and reviewed thus far. I keep writing this for you guys. D Chatper 5 should be up soon...if it ever writes itself. xD

_Chapter 4  
Attack of the hand_

In Draco's opinion, the only good thing that had come from the earlier mishap was the accidental discovery of the transfiguration potion. Even if the blonde thought about it really hard, he couldn't come up with anything else; the list of positive points pretty much ran out after that.

He sat in his wingback chair, glass of brandy in hand, watching Harry scuttle from one end of his private chambers to the other one. The cat had been exploring for nearly an hour now, nose practically glued to the floor.

"You have three months," Snape had told him after dinner.

"Three months!? Severus, I barely know what the potion does. For all I know it will take me a helluva lot longer to come up with a counter," Draco had protested, surging to his feet.

Snap had tilted his head to the side, raising both eyebrows and looking at Draco the same way he had when the blonde had been a child and arguing a moot point. Which, Draco supposed, he was. Feeling defeated and for some strange reason betrayed, he had walked to the door.

"Oh, another thing, Draco. Harry will be staying with you during the nights as well. Just a safety precaution, you understand."

Draco had stormed out of the room, letting the door slam behind him hard. Snape had some nerve. Although Draco had to admit the headmaster had a point. It wouldn't make much sense if Harry was with him all day to be safe and at night told to fend for himself. But he still didn't like the arrangement.

He finished his drink just as Potter-cat walked up to him and jumped onto the armrest.

"You have a lot of strange things in here," he said.

"What do you mean?"

Harry scratched under his chin and said, "You have boxes and boxes of strange things. A severed hand that will fetch anything you tell it to? A box full of petrified prehistoric pixies? Oh, and let's not forget the strange set of silverware. I won't even ask what that does." The cat twitched its ears. "Why do I have the feeling that nearly everything here is illegal and dark in nature?"

Draco sneered at Harry. Go figure that being turned into a cat wouldn't stop him from thinking like an Auror. "Because your paranoid," he said, rising from his chair. "I'm going to bed."

Harry was beside him so fast that the blonde thought for a moment that he could aparate. He stopped just before the door of his bedroom, blocking the cat's way with his leg.

"Oh no Potter, you're staying out here."

"But it's creepy out here. And who's to say that your arsenal of trinkets won't attack me in my sleep?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Potter, do you really think that I would put you in harms way?"

Harry stared at him with wide eyes. "YES!"

"Okay, so maybe I would. But not while you are defenseless. I do not wish to be sacked. Good night, Fluffy." He slipped into his room quickly before the cat could make a run for it.

--

The yowling had to stop soon. It just had to. Otherwise Draco was going to kill Harry. He cast a tempus charm and groaned. It was two in the morning.

Swinging his feet to the floor he stomped to the door of his bedroom, wrenched it open, and looked down. Harry was backed against the door, back arched, hairs standing on end.

"Will you stop that!" Draco hissed. "I'm trying to get some sleep."

"And I'm trying not to get killed. Your bloody hand attacked me!"

Draco looked around the room and saw the severed hand hiding in the shadows of a bookshelf, the three middle fingers tapping on the stone floor as if waiting. He had to remember to get rid of the creepy thing in the morning. He pressed his lips together and looked down at the cat. With a defeated sigh he stepped back, letting Harry into the room.

"But you're sleeping on the floor," he announced, tossing one of his pillows down.

"Of course, Malfoy."

As Draco climbed back under the sheets he thought that Harry's tone was a bit too agreeable. The thought quickly left his mind as sleep claimed him once more.

--

Something heavy and warm was on Draco's back. He cracked one eye open and looked around. He was lying on his stomach, which wasn't a position he was in often. Yawning, the blonde turned on his side, the weight on his back shifting with him.

"Ooff."

Harry stood up, yawning and stretching until his little body shook. Draco frowned at him. With one foot he nudged the cat off the bed until he fell to the floor.

"I thought I told you you're sleeping on the floor." He swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood up. The bathroom was calling him.

"The floor was getting too cold," Harry said, washing his face.

"That doesn't give you the right to sleep with me," Draco called back from the bathroom.

Harry snorted. He wiggled his way under the bed. There was nothing much of interest thought, much to his disappointment. He wiggled back out just in time as Draco walked back in. He looked amazingly put together already.

"By the way, you'll be going with me to my lessons today," he said over his shoulder, standing in front of his wardrobe, carefully selecting his clothes.

"Why?"

"I can use your help with the students. I think some of the little bastards are using pre-made potions when I'm not looking. But I can't prove anything." He pulled a dark blue button-down shirt and black trousers out.

"And why should I help you?" Harry asked, turning his head to look at the floor while Draco changed.

"Because I have a suspicion that the Gryffindors are behind it."

"What?! My students would never do something like that."

"That's why you should be there today. Now come on, we'll be late for breakfast."

Draco picked his robes up off the back of a chair and left the bedroom. The hand was nowhere to be seen. Not that that meant anything. Just as his hand reached for the doorknob, Harry let out a loud yowl from behind him.

Draco whirled around, wand raised. The hand had jumped down on Harry from the fireplace mantel and was scrambling for the cat's neck. Harry was spinning in circle, trying to dislodge it. Draco tracked the hands with his wand, but every time he had a clear shot, Harry turned around again, getting in the way.

"For gods sake, Potter, stop moving!" he shouted, rushing forward.

Potter-cat stopped moving, although Draco figured it was from the hand strangling him, not his own free will. He picked the cat up, pointed his wand at the hand and shouted, "_Reducto_!"

The hand turned into a pile of dust on the floor. Draco cradled Harry to his chest, giving the little animal time to catch his breath.

"Are you all right?"

Harry only nodded. He climbed onto the blonde's shoulder, swishing his tail from side to side to keep his balance.

_If Potter is going to give me the silent treatment for the rest of the day, maybe this attack wasn't so bad after all,_ he thought, leaving the room quickly to catch the rest of breakfast.


	5. Cosmos the Class Pet

**Authors Note:**Thank you SOO much to all the people that have read and reviewed Chatty Cat. You guys keep this going. And a hundred and ten thank you's to my wonderful beta, who is reading and sending these chapters back to me faster then I can write them. You're the best.

_Chapter 5  
__Cosmos the Class Pet_

If Draco hadn't been Draco, he would have been concerned that Potter still wasn't talking to him. As it were, he welcomed the silence. Breakfast had been a blissful hour with the cat pouting under the table. After the first half, Snape had actually looked under the table to make sure the animal was even still there. Draco, however, hadn't been as worried.

"We should think of a different cover name for me to use," Harry finally said from his perch on Draco's shoulder as the blonde strode down the hallway.

Draco gasped. "You're actually talking to me? Oh! My heart, be still."

The little cat glared at him. "I'm still angry about the hand thing. And the second I'm normal again, I'll throttle you. But since I need your help to get to that stage, I'll bite my tongue for now."

Draco chuckled. "Harry Potter biting his tongue. I never thought I'd see the day." He was hit in the eye by a flicked tail. "Hey, watch it fur ball! And why should we change your name? I think Fluffy suits you just fine."

"Because I know where you live. And although I may be small, I can still attack you in your sleep."

Draco thought about it for a moment, his imagination going wild. He found the image of a Potter-cat standing above his sleeping form with a knife clutched in his little paws the most amusing of all.

"Alright," he said with a chuckle. "What would you like to be called?"

"How about Max? It's a very nice cat name."

Draco snorted. "No animal of mine will be given such a common name. Honestly."

"Fine, then you pick one. One that is not Fluffy," the cat added as Draco opened his mouth with a smile.

"Cosmos."

"Cosmos?"

"Yes, it would have been the name I would have given my own owl if my Father hadn't insisted I use the family one."

Harry fell silent for most of the rest of the way. Draco wasn't sure if the cat was thinking of another name, or if he was testing it out in his head. Just before he went around the last bend in the hall to his classroom, he slowed down.

"Alright," Harry said. "I can deal with Cosmos."

Draco nodded and walked on. When he walked into his class, he could feel all eyes on it. It was a peculiar feeling since he couldn't remember the last time he had the attention of the entire class. Soft murmurs erupted as Harry jumped onto his desk and sat on the edge. A pale hand shot up in the air immediately.

"Yes, Miss Longbottom," Draco drawled, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the desk's edge.

"I was, uhm, well, I was wondering if that was your cat?"

_No, it's Dumbeldore, back to life, _he thought. Out loud he said, "Yes, this is Cosmos."

Some of the girls giggled and awed. To butter up to them even more, Harry mewled and rubbed his head against Draco's elbow. More awing ensued. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Now then," he flicked his wand at the black board behind him, where words appeared rapidly, one line at a time. "You will continue the potion from last time. Your instructions are on the board."

Muttering, the students stood up and gathered their supplies. Harry jumped down from the desk as soon as most of the students were at their desks again and walked around their chairs. Draco watched him rub against the legs of some of the students. One of the Slytherin girls even bent down to scratch his head.

Draco made his rounds among the students, checking potions and giving better instructions. He kept one eye on the cat. Halfway through the class he turned to correcting papers, leaving the students to finish their potions themselves.

Harry jumped onto the desk and bonked his head against Draco's, feigning the need for attention. "It's Longbottom," he whispered.

Draco's head shot up and zeroed in on the ginger Slytherin. She was one of his favorite students, and in his opinion one of the rare people that could make red hair look good. Currently she was sitting on her desk, chatting with the Hufflepuff boy behind her, apparently finished with her potion already.

It had been a shock when Neville's only daughter had been sorted into the house of the snakes. And it had been amusing as hell when the man had stormed into the great Hall the next morning, strode up to the teachers table and accused Draco of tampering with the sorting hat so he could corrupt Neville's little girl. She had been embarrassed, Draco had choked on his own laughter, and Harry had come to the rescue, ushering his friend back out.

Now, Draco could see why Emily had been sorted into his house. She was a cunning little thing.

He patted Harry on the head as thanks and went back to correcting papers. An explosion caught his attention. Drawing his wand he surged to his feet, rushing to the mess one of the students had created. "Oh come on, Mr. Goyle! Your mother creates potions for a living; you must have picked something up from her!"

--

"Emily, come over here, please," Draco said at the end of the class.

The girl waved to her friends and walked over. "Yes, Professor?"

"Emily, I know that you're using pre-made potions instead of making your own." Emily took a step back and Draco smiled. "You're a smart girl, Emily. Why?"

"I'm… I'm not using…" she stuttered.

Draco leaned back in his chair, pressing his fingertips together. "You're one of my favorite students, I'm not going to lie about that. I just want to know why you're cheating on your potions."

She sighed and sat on the desk closest to Draco. "It's just so boring, Professor. I could brew these potions in my sleep. And I do!" she added quickly. "I brew them myself in the dorms and just put them in vials for later."

Draco sighed. "I should report this to Professor Snape, you realize. I do not tolerate cheating after all." Harry scrambled onto Draco's lap. "But in the light of the matter, I'll go easy on you; three months of detention. And I'll talk with Professor Snape to see if we can place you into the advanced class."

Emily beamed at him. "Thank you so much, Professor." Waving, she ran from the room.

"I would never have thought that you were so nice to your students," Harry said as soon as the door was shut.

"Only to students I like. You and your friends would have never fallen into that category." He scratched under Harry's chin absentmindedly. "Anyways, that was the class I needed help with, you are free to go now."

"I think I'll stay here. See if you treat the rest of your students as wonderfully as you treat your precious little Slytherins."

Draco shoved the cat roughly off his lap.

--

The rest of the day dragged on. Now Draco knew why Snape was always in such a pissy mood. And if boredom wouldn't kill him, the children surely would. He now had only one eyebrow thanks to another exploding potion even though the student looked much worst.

Potter, on the other hand, had been a huge hit with the students. Milking the situation for all it was worth, he had received more wanted attention then he probably had so far in his life. The female students were especially taken with him, cooing and baby talking to him. Draco was sure the cat was even helping some students with their work, casually knocking containers into potions at the right time.

By the time the last class emptied, the potions master was exhausted. When had teaching turned into such a chore? His eyes rested on Harry, sitting by the door, watching the students leave. Oh… right.

He got to his feet and walked into his office. "Come on Potter, let's work on our potion. Hopefully we can fix your problem today."

"You know, I rather like being here while your teach," Harry said, running after the blonde.

"I don't."

"The students are all so much more relaxed around me then usual."

"Gee, I wonder why." Draco drawled, flicking his wand at the shelves. Bottles and pouches flew after him.

"Would you mind if I come with you again? I could be the class pet."

"If you promise not to tamper with the students work, you can live here for all I care."

"I haven't tampered with anything," Harry huffed, jumping onto the desk.

"Bullshit. I saw you knock the leaves in Jamison's potions in the nick of time. You need to stop that! They won't learn anything."

"Maybe if you would teach them, I wouldn't have to help."

Draco pressed his lips together. He pulled a vial from the desk drawer; poured its content into the little bowl he kept handy for Potter-cat and commanded, "Drink."

Harry sniffed at the clear liquid, uncertain. He nudged the dish with one paw, half expecting it to explode, or to suck him in. He didn't put anything past the blonde. Satisfied that it wouldn't kill him—yet—he drank that liquid. It tasted like cherries.

"Is it supposed to help me?" he asked once done.

"You'll see," Draco replied with a smug grin.

"That doesn't tell meh…" Harry croaked out. He coughed and tried again. "Tha' do—" The black cat fell silent. Taking a step back he opened his mouth again but nothing came out this time, not even the faintest peep.

Draco smiled at him. "Ah," he sighed. "Silence. Now then… where were we?"


	6. He Grows On You

_Chapter 6  
__He Grows On You_

Sun streamed through the single window in Draco's office. As always, Harry was laying smack in the middle of it, dozing. Draco watched him for a while, noting that his fur had a chocolate brown hue to it suddenly. Chewing on the end of his thumb, the blonde wondered if Harry's hair did the same when he was human. He shook his head to dislodge the strange thought and turned back to his work.

Thanks to his Potter problem, he had a month of homework and essays to correct. If the cat could hold a pen he would make Harry help. As it where…

For a month he had been at this. A month of brewing potions; of sometimes pinning Harry down to make him drink the liquids; of wasting hundreds of galleons in ingredients because the potion wouldn't work. A whole fucking month of work and no real progress to show for it.

Snape was becoming cross with him, as was Harry whenever he heard the students talk about Mrs. Simmons class. Apparently the substitute teacher didn't know what she was doing. Not that that was Draco's problem.

Suddenly he had a lap full of cat. Harry stuck his head between Draco's arms and looked at Goyle's essay with its large red T.

"Couldn't you give him at least a D? He made an effort."

The potions master snorted. "He wrote three inches on the properties of Shrinking Solutions. I wanted a foot on the Everlasting Elixir. He doesn't deserve a D." Leaning forward he squinted a little and tisked. "I even think he just gave me his paper from three years ago that he never turned in."

Harry laughed. Draco was surprised to find that he liked the sound. It wasn't the superficial crap he heard from the Boy-Who-Lived when he talked to the press. It was actual laughter.

"Last year he actually gave me an essay he had turned in his first year, thinking I wouldn't notice it. It even still had my grade on the top."

Draco chuckled. That sounded like his friend's son, all right. He moved the essay to the corrected stack and went to work on the next one. One hand strayed down to pet Harry. The motion was oddly comforting for both of them.

By the time he was done with two weeks worth of essays, his eyes burned. Maybe he should go easy on the essays for a while. Or homework in general. He was having trouble enough as it was.

"Why did you decide to be a teacher?" Harry suddenly asked.

Draco shrugged, never having given it much thought. "I'm not really sure."

"Oh, come on, you must know why. No one just wakes up one morning and says 'I think I'll be a teacher today.'"

The blonde leaned back in his chair, thinking. He definitely hadn't become a teacher because of the children. The pay wasn't amazing either; Gringotts would have paid him more. And he couldn't use Severus as an excuse since he could visit his godfather whenever he wanted. With Harry on his lap, looking up at him expectantly, he felt compelled to tell the truth.

"Because it gets me as far away from my parents as I can be, while still being close to everything I like."

"You don't like being around your parents?"

Draco shook his head. "It's not that. I like being with my mother. She doesn't ask me a billion questions and supports me in everything I do. It's my father mostly, I guess. He just doesn't accept me anymore, not since the war ended. He always thought I would follow in his footsteps. When I didn't—when I decided to do something worth my time—he apparently decided he didn't need to waste his time with me anymore.

"My sexual preference didn't help that," he grumbled before he could stop himself. Why was he telling Potter all these things anyways? Pansy was the only person he ever confessed anything to, and that was only because she was his closest and oldest friend.

Harry blinked at him. "Your sexual preference?"

Draco snorted. "Don't tell me you haven't read the newspaper."

"I try not to. What do you mean 'sexual preference'?"

Draco stared at the cat in disbelief. "Are you really that dense or do you just pretend to be? I'm gay, you moronic feline."

"Oh."

The silence stretched between them uncomfortably. Draco ceased his petting and crossed his arms over his chest. Harry shifted uncomfortably in the blonde's lap as if he wasn't sure what to do now. Draco wouldn't have been surprised to find out the Savior of the Wizarding World was a bit homophobic.

"Well," Harry said finally, face as solemn as it could be for a cat. "It would explain… your hair." Snorting, the cat burst out laughing.

Draco shoved the cat off his lap in frustration. It waved its paw at the blonde and gasped for breath. "Sorry, sorry."

"All right, smart-ass. What about you then? Why did you become a teacher?"

The laughter ceased abruptly. Turning around Harry began exploring the office, even though he already knew every nook and cranny of the small space. He shrugged - an odd thing to see on a cat - and said, "Because I wanted to."

"You were next in line to become Head Auror, Potter. You can't tell me you gave that up because you like to teach."

"And why not?" asked Harry, head stuck underneath a cabinet. "Maybe I got bored with the work."

"Right, because teaching children is so much more exciting. You can't even begin to imagine the adventures I've had with this job," the other man drawled, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Harry sighed and sat down, still not looking at the man in the chair. "Fine. I saw what other Defense teachers were doing and I thought 'This won't help these children if they are confronted by dark magic.' They weren't being taught enough, they all had this huge hole in their training. When I found out Charles had resigned, I decided I wanted to try to fill that gap. Not that I think I'm doing a good enough job of it."

Draco let out a very un-Malfoy bark of laughter. "Are you kidding me? Potter, you are the best Defense teacher this school has had in a long time. These kids know things I didn't learn until I was out of school. You have filled that gap and then some." Draco surprised himself a little with the compliments falling out of his mouth.

Harry shook his head, still not believing it. Draco huffed and pushed on. "The other day, Hagrid accidentally let two Erklings out of their cages. Why he had them is beyond me. Anyway, they had a young first year cornered and would have eaten him, if it hadn't been for your fourth years. Three of them managed to save the child, survive to tell the tale, and transport the creatures back to Hagrid without hurting them too badly. No one else would have been able to teach them that."

"I guess."

"Oh! And what about the last Triwizard Tournament?" Draco said, on a roll now.

Harry looked at him with a questioning look. "What about it?"

"We practically cheated! Potter, none of the other kids managed to do what ours did. It was amazing, and you know it!"

Harry's tail twitched. "Yeah. It was pretty cool seeing Seamus take care of the Aurors like that."

Draco laughed. "Cool? It was wonderful! I never saw two men look more ashamed. Beaten that badly by a seventeen year old… honestly now. You are a great teacher, you miserable little fuzz ball. So stop moping."

Harry grinned and finally turned around. Although the grin was mostly teeth—sharp, pointy teeth—Draco thought he could get used to it. He stood up, crossed the room and scooped Harry up as he passed the cat, eliciting a small 'oof'.

"Come on, Potter, I need a drink. And I want to see what happens to cats when they get drunk."

"Harry," the cat said, settling down on his usual perch.

"What?"

"Call me Harry."

Draco chuckled. "I'll try to." He swung his cloak over his shoulders and left the room quickly, checking the hallway for any sign of Snape. Harry chuckled into his ear. If asked, Draco would have denied it, but the cat was starting to grow on him.


	7. Granger to the Rescue

**Authors Note:** Thanks for all the reviews. And thank you to my beta, Julie.

_Chapter 7  
__Granger to the Rescue_

Harry was running around the potions master's office. He jumped onto shelves, back down, ran around some boxes, jumped onto those as well, back down, and ran around in circles. Draco cradled his head in his hands and groaned.

"POTTER! Stop it!"

"But I can't!" Harry shouted at him, speaking far too fast. "I have all this energy!"

The blonde crumpled up a sheet of parchment and threw it into the overflowing bin, another potion combinations gone out the window. Harry whipped his head around at the motion and with a ferocious battle cry launched himself at the bin, landing inside it.

There was a knock on Draco's door. "Enter," he muttered.

Hermione Granger bustled into the room, cloak billowing out behind her. Her hands were clenched into tight fists. "Where is he?" she ground out between clenched teeth.

"It's nice to see you too, Granger. Whom are you talking about?"

"You know damn well whom I'm talking about. Where is Harry?"

Draco raised both eyebrows. "He's away on an Auror case, of course."

"Like hell he is. Neville's daughter told us that too. Harry would never go back to do Auror work without telling Ron and me about it. Now where the fuck is he?"

Just then Harry poked his head out of the paper bin. "Hi 'Mione!"

Draco groaned. So much for keeping this problem a secret.

The brunette stared down at the cat. In three long steps she was across the room and had Harry in her arms. She turned her head slowly. The look on her face made Draco shrink back in his chair a little.

"What. Have. You. Done?" Every word was emphasized by a threatening step in the blonde's direction.

"I've done nothing," he said quickly. "It was an accident. Potter disturbed me while I was working on a potion. It exploded and," he waved his hands at Harry, "that happened."

Harry craned his head back and licked his friend chin. Scrambling out of her arms, he went back to attacking the balls of parchment, tail twitching frantically.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked.

"I thought I had made a counter potion finally, but it's only made him hyper. He's been running around for the last hour. Anyway, what do you want, Granger?"

"I cam here to find out where Harry was," she said, watching him run around. "But now that I know what happened to him, I'm going to help you."

"I don't need your help."

"Apparently you do. How many potions have you tried on him?"

Draco counted slowly in his head. In the last month it had been ten potions. But to his credit, every single one was getting him that much closer to the answer. At least Potter didn't change colors or speak in foreign languages anymore.

"Ten. But I'm getting closer to the solution. I really don't need your help."

"Where does he stay?" she asked, completely ignoring Draco's refusal.

"He stays with me."

"Even at night?"

"Yes. Even at night. And before you ask, yes, he sleeps in my bedroom so he's twice as safe." He stood up, rounded his desk, placed his hands on Hermione's shoulders and pushed her gently but firmly out of his office. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do. Work that doesn't need your help," he added before she could say anything else, slamming the door in her face and locking it.

Harry batted a ball of parchment over to Draco's feet. The blonde kicked it away and watched, highly amused, as Harry ran after it. Hopefully he would tire himself out before his heart imploded.

--

The candlelight cast soft shadows on the stone walls of Draco's bedroom. Harry was fast asleep on the foot of the bed. Draco, on the other hand, was wide awake, propped up by a stack of pillows, reading one of the Muggle novels his mother had sent him. It was surprisingly good.

In his sleep, Harry mewled and rolled over. Draco paid him no attention. The cat mewled again, this time louder. A page was turned. Harry's limbs began to twitch. He turned over again and whispered something urgently. Draco lowered his book and watched the cat, his brows furrowed in concern.

"No, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to," Harry whispered, his legs moving as if he was running from something.

Draco dog-eared the page he was reading and let the book drop to the floor. He bent forward and nudged Harry gently; to no avail. He scooped Harry up and set him on his lap.

"Potter," he said quietly, poking the cat again. "Harry, wake up." Harry wrinkled his nose so Draco nudged him harder. "Come on, Potter. Wake up."

Harry jerked awake. His breath came out in short pants as he looked around frantically. His ears were pressed against his head, eyes wide and nearly bulging out of his head.

"Calm down, Harry, you were just dreaming." Draco assured him, running his hand down the length of the cat's back idly.

Harry began to purr softly and snuggled against Draco. With a small smile, the blonde scooted down until he lay on his bed and extinguished the candle. He closed his eyes and asked, "What did you dream about?" His hand never stopped moving.

"Nothing," Harry muttered.

"Potter, I know what nothing looks like. And what you just did was not a nothing. You were having a nightmare, weren't you?"

Harry's tail stopped moving. The blonde had apparently hit the proverbial nail on the head. The cat suddenly stood up and walked up the length of Draco's naked chest, before laying down on it, paws hanging over his shoulder, head tucked into the crook of Draco's neck. He muttered something incoherent.

"Harry, I don't speak mumble."

He moved his head a fraction of an inch. "I said yes."

Draco resumed his petting. "Was it about the war?"

"Yes," Harry muttered, and buried his face against Draco's neck again.

He licked his lips, unsure what else to say. Draco knew the feeling of nightmares after the war. He had had them himself. He knew what it felt like to have to watch horrible things happening again and again when you can't look away, let alone wake up. He had woken up more then once with his mother sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling down at him, ready to gather him into her arms and reassure Draco that everything was all right. The least he could do now, he figured, was do the same.

He rubbed his cheek against Harry's head and said, "It's all right, Harry. There is nothing to be scared of anymore. We won. And nothing is going to come after you ever again."

Harry raised his head. "Really?"

Draco nodded, knowing Harry's eyes could see despite the dark. "Yes. Now go to sleep." he said.

He rolled onto his side, taking Harry with him. Snuggling further under the sheets, he wrapped the other arm around Harry and pulled him closer to his chest. The cat heaved a content sigh and began to purr all over again. Draco fell asleep to the sound, the smile still on his face.

--

With coffee mug in hand, Draco answered the door. It was strange for someone to want something from him at five in the morning, but he had seen stranger. Granger stood on the other side, three books piled on her arms.

"Oh god, that is more of you then I ever needed to see," she said, pushing her way into his living quarters.

The blonde stared out into the hallway a while longer, wondering who had invited her in. He closed the door and leaned against it. "This is what I sleep in, Granger," he said, indicating the PJ pants. "If you don't like it, don't come here. Speaking of, why are you here?"

"I'm here to help you with Harry," she said mater-of-factly. She looked around the living room and frowned. "Where is he anyways?"

"Still asleep. Listen, Granger, I told you before that I don't need your help. And I meant that. I don't need it. I'm perfectly capable of finding a solution myself."

Hermione laughed. "Right, which is why Harry is still a cat. Where are the write-ups for the mixtures that didn't work?"

Draco closed his eyes and counted to ten in his head. Why was 'I don't need your help' so hard for the woman to understand? He opened them slowly; half hoping she would be gone. She wasn't. She sat on the edge of his sofa, hands folded on top of the books she had brought with her, looking at him expectantly. He pushed away from the door and padded barefoot across the room.

"I don't have them all. Some of them Harry tore to pieces, and ate."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're so useless. Well, let me see what you've found out so far, and we'll go from there. Read these while I'm busy. Maybe they can help you," she said, placing the books on the coffee table. "I picked them up from a friend of mine and she said that if anything about animal transfiguration had ever been written down, it would be in here."

Draco grumbled under his breath, tossing the write-ups at the brunette. He sat down on the wingback chair, not sure why he was even listening to her.

_Because you want to help Harry,_ a voice said in the back of his head.

Biting the inside of his cheek, he pulled one of the large novels into his lap and turned it to the first page. Halfway through the first paragraph he looked at his ajar bedroom door, hoping the cat would wake up soon and save him from Granger.


	8. Rumors

**Authors Note:** Much love to all my reviewers, and of course to my beta.

_Chapter 8  
__Rumors_

"And why not? Have you tried it?"

"Well… no."

"Exactly, that's what I thought. Nothing venture, nothing gained, Malfoy."

Draco slumped in his chair slouched so low his bum hung over the edge. Hermione paced up and down before him, Harry in her arms. She was throwing out ideas left and right, expecting the blonde to make sense of them. A hard thing to do when she either muttered them under her breath or said them with her head turned away.

"Then it's settled! We'll start brewing after the Christmas Hols. That will give us time to brainstorm other options. But I still think we should just take Harry to St. Mungos. I'm sure someone would be able to help him..."

"I don't want that," Harry said suddenly, speaking up for the first time since waking. "It would get out somehow and be all over The Prophet."

"But Harry…"

"Besides," the cat went on. "Draco has been doing a good job so far. I'm sure together you two can figure this out."

Draco was surprised how easily his first name rolled off Harry's tongue. He was even more surprised that he liked the way it sounded He smiled at the cat and said, "Your flattery will get you nowhere."

One of the house-elves popped into the room then. Hermione's brow knitted together in distaste. The elf smiled at her and petted Harry before turning to Draco.

"The headmaster would like to speak with you, Professor Malfoy."

Draco sighed and nodded in acknowledgment. The elf bowed to Hermione and left with a soft pop. The blonde stood up and frowned at the brunette.

"Just sit down, and don't touch anything while I'm gone."

"Why?" she asked with a sneer. "Don't want your things to get tainted by a Mudblood?"

"That, and I wouldn't want to come back to the mess left behind after you've been eaten." With a smirk he left, leaving the blinking woman behind.

The halls were amazingly quiet as he strolled along. Nothing cleared the school faster then the Christmas Holidays. Even the ghosts appeared gone. The gargoyle outside Snape's office opened one sleepy eye when he stood before it, ready to present it with the password. Instead the gargoyle yawned and said, "Just go up."

"That was fast," Snape commented once Draco was inside the office. "I'll make it quick so you can leave early. Your mother sent me an owl requesting that I make certain you go home for the Holidays. So that's what I'm doing. Go home and enjoy a few days. Oh, and take Potter with you."

"What?! Why do I need to drag him along?"

"Because no one besides myself will be at the castle. And I certainly don't want to look after him. Besides, this will give you a chance to look at your father's books with the subject at hand. Hopefully you'll accomplish something there, since none of your work for the last month and a half has borne any fruit."

"I, for one, think Potter speaking German for a week was amazing success," the blonde said, suppressing laughter.

Snape glared at him. "Just take the damn cat and go."

Draco turned around and opened the door, grinning at the older man. His expression changed at once into a stern mask and he bowed his head quickly. "Ja wohl Herr Komandant," he said. He ducked out of the room quickly as Snape threw a small book at him.

--

Draco stood before Malfoy Manor's front gates. He was contemplating whether he should really enter the grounds or just turn around and find a decent hotel. Harry made his mind up for him as the cat jumped down from his shoulder and wiggled his way under the gates.

"Harry, get back here!" Draco hissed.

"No. I would kill to have blood relatives to visit during the Holidays," he said over his shoulder, trotting up the long gravel pathway. "You have perfectly bearable parents, the least you can do it spend Christmas with them. Now come on."

Draco let his head drop back and stared up at the sky, wondering what he had done to deserve such a pest. Reluctantly he unlocked the gates and followed. Harry was already on the front porch. The blonde picked him up just as a house elf opened the door.

"Young Master," it said, bowing low to the ground. "Master and Mistress Malfoy are awaiting your arrival in the parlor. Twinxy will take you to them."

The Malfoys looked like the dictionary definition of Christmas. Narcissa sat on the very edge of a cream colored lounge, clad in a emerald green dress, her blond hair curled and pinned to the top of her head with a red poinsettia. Lucius stood behind her, wearing black dress robes, his hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He had a matching poinsettia pinned to his robes, this one much smaller then his wife's. A fire blazed behind them, casting a soft glow against their pale skin. Gifts were piles underneath a huge Christmas tree.

Narcissa rose to her feet. She smiled at her son and said, "Darling, it's so good to have you home again." She hugged him quickly and pecked him on the cheek. "Oh, who's this?" she asked, looking at Harry.

"This is Cosmos," Draco explained.

Narcissa reached out tentatively to let Harry sniff her hand. He skipped the step entirely and went straight to pressing his head against her hand to be scratched, mewling charmingly.

_What a suck up,_ Draco thought as his mother, with a laugh of delight, busied herself petting the cat.

"You bought a cat?" his father asked, still standing by the lounge.

"Yes," said the blonde, not feeling the need to elaborate.

Lucius rounded the lounge and stood behind his wife. He leaned forward, eyeing the cat critically. Draco was glad Hermione had suggested dying the tuff of white fur black, since who knew what conclusions the elder Malfoy would draw. Finally he straightened back up and smiled crookedly.

"What a strange choice of pet. Although it makes you look shockingly like your grandfather."

Narcissa tilted her head to the side a little. "You're right, he does look like Abraxas. Anyways, go upstairs and change. Our guests are due to arrive in an hour."

Draco wanted to protest but knew the point would be moot. Nothing would make his parents agree to let him skip the inevitable party, nothing ever did. He trudged up the stairs with Harry at his heel.

The party was everything he had expected. Unimportant people talking about unimportant things. He was only glad that Harry was safely tucked away in his room, far away from the feet that could trample him to death. Although he did miss having someone intelligent to talk to. The endless stream of pointless conversations was driving him half mad. Suddenly an arm snaked around his waist and pulled him aside.

"Have you heard about Potter?" Blaise asked once out of earshot of everyone else. Without waiting for an answer he went on. "He's supposedly helping out on an Auror mission. But no one knows which one. Not even the Aurors! Rumor has it that Potter finally lost his mind all together and that the Minister is keeping him locked up in one of the Gringotts vaults for safe keeping!"

Draco feigned delight at the news. "It wouldn't surprise me. He's been threatening to fall off his rocker ever since the Weasel died. I can see the headlines now: Savior gone insane. Oh, what a perfect Christmas present that would be!"

Blaise laughed. "It would be what he deserved. Anyway, I just thought you'd like to know what us important people are saying, you being always locked up at school and all. I'll see you around," he said, letting his hand trail over Draco's. With a wink and a wicked smile the dark-skinned man disappeared among the other guests.

Draco felt uneasy and almost sick to his stomach. He spend the rest of the night only half paying attention to the people talking to him, nodding and laughing at the appropriate times. When asked how teaching was going for him he repeated the same things: fine, hard, you know how children are...

"How was the party?" Harry asked from the top of the stairs as the blonde trudged up.

"I thought I told you to stay in my room?" He waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind. The party was dreadful, and we have a problem. Rumors are going about that you've lost your mind and are locked up in a Gringotts vault," he said, quickly walking down the hall to his room. He was exhausted.

Harry laughed, running alongside him. "That's original."

Draco couldn't help but smile. "That may be, but it still presents us with a problem. If we can't get you back to normal soon, people are going to wonder where the hell you are. And that won't be good. First thing tomorrow, we're going through my father's books. Hopefully he has something helpful among his collection."

He shut his bedroom door quietly, not noticing the pair of blue, calculating eyes watching him from the shadows.


	9. Mother's Intuition

_Chapter 9  
Mothers Intuition_

Narcissa was already at breakfast when Draco shuffled down from his room. Harry hung limp over his shoulder, still half asleep.

"Good morning, darling. I take it you slept well?"

Draco grumbled something under his breath and nearly attacked his cup of coffee. His mother chuckled and resumed reading the paper. She tisked several times, shaking her head.

"What a shame," she finally said.

"What is?" Draco asked, feeding bits of his croissant to Harry.

"Oh, Rita Seeker is out for Potter's blood again. That woman has no integrity. She wrote this horrible article again. 'Potter has not been seen by anyone in several weeks,'" Narcissa read. "'Many think that the Savior of the Wizarding World has finally lost the last shred of sanity he possessed, and has succumbed to the loss of his first love, Ginny Weasley, one of the many casualties of the war. Word has leaked out that the ex-Auror is lending his expertise on an ongoing case, although the evidence of such statements cannot be found. In my opinion, the young man has finally decided that he deserves more then recognition from the public, and is secretly gathering his own army to take over the ministry."

Both Harry and Draco choked on their food. The blonde downed his coffee, ignoring the burning sensation as the hot liquid slid down his throat. He patted the sputtering cat on the back. Narcissa looked at them both with one raised eyebrow. At Draco's wave to go on she resumed reading.

"'Only time will tell if Harry Potter is still our Boy-Who-Lived or has turned into the next He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.' She goes on like his for almost another two pages. Honestly, no tact." She rose and walked around the table. She planted a kiss on her son's forehead and scratched Harry behind the ear. "I'll be going then. Have a good day, darling."

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Harry chanted. "This is bad. How did this get out of hand so fast? What the hell are we going to do?!"

Draco lifted and turned Harry around so they were at eye level. "First," he said, "we're going to calm down. All this stress can't be good for you. Then we'll talk to Granger and see if she can fix this in any way. Then we'll go to my father's library and get busy looking at his books. We'll figure this out, Harry. I swear."

--

Hermione already had a battle plan laid out. She had kept a few of Harry's hairs and would use them to polyjuice herself and Ron into the Savior. Together they would hopefully be able to convince the Wizarding World that Harry hadn't lost his mind, or come up with plans to take over the Ministry.

"We'll switch back and forth," she said through the floo. "And make it look like Harry is hanging out with one of us at a time."

"What about hanging out with both of you? Then what?" Harry asked, pacing back and forth.

"We'll ask George to help."

"But I don't want more people know about this!"

"Harry," Draco said, trying to sooth the little animal. "If you don't want this to turn into a huge deal you'll have to let the Weasleys help you."

Reluctantly he agreed. "But only George."

Hermione agreed and left the to research, which turned out to be a bigger chore then Draco had first thought. There were more books then he cared to count, and most of them were dark in nature.

He spelled the most relevant—or at least what he thought would be the most relevant—books to the desk, sitting in the middle of the room and beginning to read. It was slow going since he had to translate half the text. He was only vaguely aware of the house elves popping in to give him food and tea. Lucius helped for a short while, under the impression his son was looking for something that would wreak havoc on Potter once he surfaced again. Draco even walked around the study, giving his back a much-deserved break.

Narcissa walked in and looked over his shoulder. "Transfiguration potions?"

"Uh, yes. I want to play a trick on Potter once he returns to school. Nothing that will kill him, of course. Just something that will turn him into… something… for a few days." Draco explained, covering the page he was reading with his arms.

"Mmm." Narcissa walked away only to return with a large volume in hand. "You might want to look at this, then. And if you can choose what you turn him into, make it a cat, perhaps? I always thought Potter would make a pretty kitty." Smiling. she left the room.

Draco blinked after his mother, highly confused at her words. She couldn't possibly know what he was up to, right? Then again…

"Ah ha!" he shouted triumphantly some time later.

"AAH!" Claws clicked frantically on the granite windowsill as Harry tried to find something to cling to, having been ripped out of a dead sleep. He found none and crashed to the floor. "What the fuck?"

"I found it! God, how could I not have seen it earlier?! I'm going to Diagon Alley," he announced, scribbling something on a piece of parchment. "Stay here, don't get into any trouble, and behave yourself."

"What did you find?" Harry asked, already on the desk. He looked curiously at the book Draco had been reading. The whole thing was in French and made no sense to him.

"The solution to your problem," the blonde said. He bent down and kissed Harry on the top of the head. "I'll be back." With a new spring in his step he rushed from the room, shouting "Finally!" as the door shut behind him.

--

Knockturn Alley was even more depressing in the winter months. The hags that would stand along the wall were nowhere to be seen, having taken shelter from the cold in various rat holes.

Draco raised one gloved hand and pulled the hood of his cloak further over his face. Although most wizards and witches wouldn't have paid him—son of a former death eater—any attention, it wouldn't do for them to see their children's teachers visiting such a dark place.

Borgin & Burkes was just ahead and he hurried into the store. Mr. Borgin stuck his head out of the back storage as the bell above his door jingled. His sour frown turned into a look of unexpected delight when Draco pulled the hood off.

"Mr. Malfoy, what a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you? Oh! How about this?" he pulled a box from under the counter. "It's filled with Death Beetles," he breathed the last words. "Nasty little things. The body part they bite will turn gray and falls off if not treated within twelve hours."

Draco pressed his lips together into a tight smile. "Not today, Borgin. I actually came because I need you to get me a little something."

"A _special_ little something?"

"Naturally."

He pulled the parchment out of his pocket and slid it across the counter. Borgin unfolded it greedily and stared down at the text. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"But you can get this in the apothecary."

"True. But I need the potent kind. And wouldn't that look strange for a teacher?"

Borgin cackled. The sound sent an unpleasant shiver down Draco's spine. "True, true. I'll charge my regular fee of course." At Draco's nod he went on. "I should have it for you in two days."

"You can't get it sooner?"

"I have other people that seek more important things, Mr. Malfoy," Borgin said, one eyebrow raised. "And they make the _point_ quite clear."

The blonde cursed under his breath but slid several Galleons over the counter. "Just make sure you have what I need by Friday."

"Of course Mr. Malfoy. Say hello to your father for me."

Disgusted, Draco slipped out of the shop, making sure his hood was securely in place. He brushed briskly passed the few street vendors that tried to capture his attention with their trinkets.

--

Draco let his robe drop onto the house-elf that stood at the door with open arms—the poor thing might as well not have been there—and instructed the creature to take his purchase from Borgin & Burkes straight to his room. He made his way to his mother's parlor in long strides. He had to find Potter fast, and if the last three days were any indications, the cat was probably curled up on Narcissa's lap.

He flung one of the doors open and saw the back of his mother's head on one of the couches. She sat to one side, arm propped on the armrest, a book cradled in her hand. She turned her head slightly at Draco's approaching footsteps.

"You're home late," she said.

"My… errands took a while longer," he said, rounding the sofa and sitting down on the one across from it. His eyes fell on Harry nearly instantly. "Cosmos has taken a liking to you."

Narcissa shrugged, running her free hand over Harry. The cat purred and rolled onto his back, exposing his tummy for her to scratch. "It is because I am a calm person." She looked at her wristwatch and clicked her tongue. "I should go to bed. I have to go with your father to a party that dreadful Mrs. McNeal is hosting. I will need all strength for it. Unfortunately that means I won't be able to see you off when you return to Hogwarts."  
"Don't worry about it, Mother."

Narcissa nodded and stood up. She deposited Harry in Draco's lap and kissed her son's forehead. "Have a safe trip then, darling. Don't stay up too late. Goodnight, Draco. Goodnight, Potter."

Before either one of them could react, the female blonde swept out of the room. As the parlor door clicked softly close behind her, Harry shook his head and looked up at Draco.

"How the hell did she know? When did she know?"

Draco shrugged and said, "For all I know, she figured it out the second she looked at you. My mother can be smarter then she lets on sometimes. What's this?" he asked, hooking one finger around the emerald green collar around the cat's neck.

"Oh, your mother bought it earlier today. Something about if I'm going to belong to you, I really should wear a collar. I even think there is a tag attached," Harry said, looking down. "But I'm not sure."

"Let me see." Harry lifted his head obediently. There was indeed a tag. It was small, rectangular, and silver. Something was inscribed on the metal. Draco picked Harry up and leaned in to read the tiny script. _HP, property of Draco Malfoy._

He sat the cat back down on his lap and began laughing. His mother really was smarter then she let on.


	10. Preferance of a Cat

_Chapter 10  
__Preference of a Cat _

Hermione was on vacation when Draco flooed her to share his news. He wrote her a quick owl so she would know to contact him the second she came home. Harry bounced up and down beside him, the tag glittering as the flames hit it.

"What did you fiinnd?" he whined again for the tenth time.

"I already told you, the solution to our problem. I should have guessed that I would find it in one of my father's books."

"So what is the solution?"

"Brew the potion backwards. It's so simple I'm amazed I didn't think of it before."

Harry blinked slowly at his companion. "Pardon?"

Draco smiled sheepishly. He scooped the cat up and said, "Give me at least a little bit of credit here. At least I admit to my error."

Harry glared at him. "So you're honestly saying that I could have been normal again sooner if only you had tried brewing the potion backwards?" Draco nodded. "I'm going to kill you!" the cat screeched, biting Draco's hand.

The blonde yelped and let go of the cat. Instead of running away, Harry began attacking Draco's bare feet. He backed up until his knees knocked against his ottoman and he fell backward. Harry was on him in seconds. Hissing angrily, he swiped at Draco's face. The blonde cursed and wrapped his arm around Harry's little body, pinning the cat to his chest. Claws dug through the fabric of his shit. For some reason it hurt more then the scratches.

"I'm sorry, okay? Calm down."

Harry struggled against the man's chest. With a huff he finally relaxed, but only a little. His claws were still lodged in the pale chest under the shirt. Draco made comforting shushing noises. His hand ran down Harry's back repeatedly.

"Are we okay?"

"As okay as we'll ever be," Harry replied, retracting the claws "You can let go now."

"Actually, I rather like this," Draco said with a crooked smile.

Harry stiffened and relaxed again so fast Draco thought he had imagined the motion.

"Think we'll go back to hating each other once you're human again?" the blonde asked.

Harry raised his head. "Why would we?"

Draco snorted. "We haven't exactly been friends in the thirteen years we've know each other. It wouldn't surprise me if we went back to not being able to stand each other."

Harry struggled against Draco's arms until he reluctantly let go. Harry sat on his chest and stared down at him, his green eyes sparkling with intensity. "I don't want that. I like being with you."

"I like being with you too, fuzz ball. But let's face it, once you can go back out in public you'll probably stop hanging out with me. After all, you have the Weasel and Granger for company."

"But they aren't here all the time. I want to stay friends with you, even after all this is done."

An odd feeling swelled in Draco's chest. It almost felt like relief. He shook his head to dislodge it. Why would he feel relieved that Harry would still want to hang out with him afterwards? So what if he liked the cat that more with each passing day? That didn't mean anything.

_Liar,_ said that annoying voice in the back of his head.

He pushed Harry off and climbed to his feet. Without another word he walked into his bathroom and locked the door. He needed a bath.

The warm water did nothing to placate his thoughts, however. If anything, it kicked them into overdrive. So Harry wanted to still be his friend. So what? A lot of people were still his friend, one more added to the list couldn't possibly be that special.

_Liar._

Draco bit his lip, hating to admit that one more person was special. He didn't know why, but he liked being around Harry. Actually liked it. He looked forward to being done with teaching and returning to his rooms on the rare occasions when Harry decided not to accompany him. He especially liked curling up to read with Harry on his lap, let alone having someone to share his bed with. Maybe he just needed an actual pet?

Groaning, he slid lower in the tub, sinking all the way under the water. It almost felt like he was falling for his companion. This was bad. After all, it was Harry sodding Potter. And who was to say that once human again his nature wouldn't change? Maybe it was just his dependency that made him so likable.

Draco's lungs burned for air, but he was reluctant to raise his head. Maybe he could knock himself out and have Granger deal with the cat? He opened his eyes under water and screamed. Harry was staring at him from the bathtub rim, his face huge and distorted. Water rushed into Draco's mouth. He sat up quickly, sputtering and gasping for breath.

"What the hell… what the hell, Potter?!" he demanded once he could breath again.

"You were in here for nearly ever. I thought you maybe drowned."

Draco leaned back against the tub's wall. "How did you get in here anyways?"

"It's a pushdown door handle," the cat said dryly. "It's really not that hard to open."

_Note to self,_ Draco thought. His peace once again disturbed, he stood up, stepped out of the bathtub and wrapped a towel around his waist. Looking over his shoulder he saw Harry stare intently at his left paw. He looked almost embarrassed.

Draco shook his head. Even as a cat, Potter never failed to be strange.

--

It was unusually warm for the first week of January. The students were able to sit on the benches around the courtyard without heating spells. Harry sat on a windowsill watching them. He liked the quiet the snow brought.

Draco watched him for a moment before a wicked thought formed in his head. As quietly as he could, he snuck up behind the cat and pushed him out the window. Potter squealed and landed in the middle of a pile of snow, only a few inches under the window. Roaring with laughter, Draco leaned out. The students looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"You should be careful where you sit, Cosmos. Windowsills can be so slippery," Draco said, still chortling.

Shaking from the cold, Harry climbed out of the snow pile and walked the long way to get back inside the castle. The snow had melted in his fur and was dipping onto the floor, leaving small pools of water behind. Draco began laughing all over again.

"I'm sorry," he wheezed as Harry glared at him. "I couldn't help it." He crouched down and cast a drying spell. Harry's fur stood out at all angles. He looked more like a Pomeranian.

"You know this thing called karma?" he asked when he was on Draco's shoulder again.

"Of course."

"Then you know that all this is going to come back and bite you in the ass eventually."

Draco chuckled. "Yeah. I kind of figured."

"Potter, where the hell are you? I will not be stood up!" a voice called out.

Draco turned around, one eyebrow raised, wondering who was walking the halls shouting so. Harry wobbled a little on his shoulder, but remained standing. Draco could feel his whiskers brushing against his temple.

A blond wizard rounded the corner, looking livid. He wore gray slacks and a blue dress shirt under his black robes. His black boots clicked softly on the stone floor. Harry yelped and hid his face behind Draco's head.

"Fuck, what is Ambrose doing here?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't know. I don't even know who Ambrose is. Who is he anyways? And why is he looking for you?"

"He's my boyfriend," Harry whispered. "Since I'm a cat I haven't talked with him."

Boyfriend? Had he heard that right? The blonde wizard spotted him and stalked over. Draco noted the pale skin and dark blue eyes. He had high cheekbones and a slender nose.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked when Harry's boyfriend was only a few feet away.

"Yeah. Have you seen Potter?"

"No. I haven't seen him for several weeks now. He's helping the Aurors out, as you probably know."

"Oh yeah? Then why did I read in the Prophet that he was with Granger and Weasley in Italy?" Draco bit his lip. He had completely forgotten about that little arrangement. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You know, you can do me a favor since you work with him, and probably see him more often then I do."

He could feel Harry stiffen a little, still hiding his face. "Certainly."

"You can tell him that we're done with. Because this was _not_ what I had had in mind when I agreed to go out with him." With a huff, Ambrose turned around and stalked away again, muttering to himself, although it sounded a lot like he was condemning Harry to the ninth level of hell.

Draco wasn't sure what to do now. He turned around and continued his walk toward his rooms. Harry was utterly silent. Draco didn't like that. The breakup couldn't possibly have shaken him up that badly, right?

_Wait, was that really his boyfriend?_ Draco thought. _The Golden Boy is… gay? Well, that puts the world into new perspective._

Harry still hadn't said anything when Draco dropped him on the lounge. Instead he curled up and stared at the fire. Draco shrugged out of his cloak. Noticing the letter on the coffee table, he sat down to read it.

"You know, I never pegged Ambrose for the impatient or jealous kind," Harry said suddenly. "I told him when we first got together that it could be months at a time before we could see each other. Oh well. It was probably for the best. He was such a damn attention whore."

Draco chuckled, relieved that Harry wasn't taking it too hard. "You sure know how to pick them then."

"Yeah, well…" Harry uncurled himself and stretched. "Letter from "Mione?"

"Yes. She sends her love and will be over on Sunday." He crumpled the paper up and tossed it into the fire. "I didn't know you were into men."

"Neither did I," Harry said. He sounded strange to Draco; honest but indifferent. "Not until four years ago. And even then I only thought I was bi. This guy named Brian changed my mind rather quickly."

Draco coughed into his hand. That was something he had never wanted to know. Harry looked a bit depressed. Could cats become depressed? _Well,_ Draco argued with himself, _humans turned cat probably could._ His thoughts were running in circles as he tried to process Potter's preference, if cats could be depressed, and whether the new revelation would change anything between them. Would it? Maybe?

His head was starting to hurt. Soft fur pressed against his hand and he petted it automatically. The fireplace suddenly roared to life, flames turning a brilliant green, and Hermione Granger stepped out.

She smiled at them apologetically and said, "We have to get started now. Ron doesn't like the attention he's getting and I'm afraid George will make you look like a whore if we let him be you for another second, Harry."

Draco heaved a sigh. Was he ever going to get a day off?


	11. The Waiting Game

**Authors Note:** Sorry it took so long for this chapter to go out, it took a while to write. A bunch of thanks to Julie, for getting this chapter back to me so fast. You're the best. And thanks for the all the reviews I've been getting.

_Chapter 11  
__The Waiting Game_

"You're doing it wrong." Drawled someone from the doorway.

Draco slammed his knife down on the table and whirled to face his old teacher. "Do you want to do this? Because if so, then by all means, have at it!" he shouted.

"Oh no," Snape said, strolling further into the room. "I just thought I would give you some instructions."

"Well, I don't want any, thank you very much."

He resumed cutting a green slug into pieces. The knife slipped from his grasp and the blade sliced into his finger. Cursing, Draco threw the knife down and stuck his finger into his mouth. He grimaced at the taste of the slug.

"Draco, what's the matter? I've never seen you in such a state." The headmaster folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the table's edge.

"It's Granger! God! I cannot work with that woman. Every other second she either criticizes my work or criticizes the way I interact with Harry. She's driving me mad!"

Snape pursed his lips. "Now you know why I hated teaching her. Is that really the only thing that's the matter?"

"Yes," Draco said with a sigh.

"Speaking of Potter, where is he?"

"Granger took him with her. I don't know where they are."

Snape raised his eyebrows but said nothing. He watched Draco resume his work. The blonde worked silently, only speaking to the headmaster when he needed something. The potion turned a sickly green color and he placed the lid over the cauldron. Waving his wand, he levitated the pot to the top shelf of a sturdy bookcase.

"It needs to simmer for a week," came his explanation to Snape's unasked question.

"What will you do for that week?"

Draco snorted. "It's a whole week of school, so I'm sure I'll be rather busy. Time will fly by."

--

It didn't. By Tuesday Draco was bored and anxious enough to try the potion out now. But Hermione had instructed him to leave it alone, since they didn't know what it could do.

"It might make things even worst. Maybe it will turn Harry into a full-blown cat. And then we won't be able to save him," she had said. So the potion stayed where is was.

Harry spent every moment he could under the shelf, staring up expectantly. It was almost as if the cat was trying to will time into moving faster. Draco knew it wouldn't work because he was trying the same thing.

Friday rolled around even slower then the other days. Probably because in three days the whole affair would just be another funny story to tell when Draco hung out with close friends. He still wasn't sure if Harry would remain on that short list.

As his last class left, muttering to themselves about Draco's utter lack of emotion, he let his head drop on his desk, pressing his cheek against the cold surface.

"Let's do something," Harry said, jumping on to the table.

"Like what?" Draco mumbled, not bother to lift his head.

"I don't care. Anything will be better then sitting around here with that cauldron practically laughing at us. Come oonn!" Harry whined, placing both front paws on the blonde's forehead and shoving.

"All right, all right," he said, reluctantly moving from his position. "We'll do _something._ How about we go to Diagon Alley? I need to run some errands anyways."

"Yes! That sounds great." Harry jumped down and rushed to the door. He came back right away and bounced up and down on the spot as Draco slowly donned his cloak. "Let's go, let's go, let's go," he chanted.

Whatever the cat was suddenly on, Draco wished he had shared it. At that moment he could have used any sort of pick-me-up. He walked slowly out of the room, Harry running ahead of him. The cat walked all the way out the exit door, where he stopped and placed one paw into the already melting snow. He blew air out his nose in a quiet huff and shook his whole body. Draco stared at the sky, pretending to be fascinated with something, and walked right passed the struggling animal.

"Well, hurry along, Cosmos," he said, using the cover name for the sake of the children that were running around.

He turned around to walk backwards, wanting to see the cat's actions.

Harry looked around, but there were too many people around for him to voice his protest. Instead he began walking in tight circles, mewling helplessly. Draco smirked at him and jerked his head in the direction of Hogsmeade. Realizing that he wouldn't receive any help from Draco or any of the students, Harry stopped mewling. He expelled another huff of air and jumped into the footsteps created by the blonde.

The whole thing looked hilarious to him. One second Harry would be airborne to jump into the next footstep, the next only the very tip of his tail would be visible in the shoe sized hole. At the last footprint, Draco waved his wand and moved fresh snow into the hole just as Harry jumped. With a loud yelp, Harry landed in the middle of the snow, and disappeared from view. Draco roared with laughter. This would never get old to him.

He bent down and dug the cat out of the snow. It was shivering horribly. "You should watch where you jump," he said.

"I-I'm going t-t-to get you b-b-ba-back for th-th-this soon enough," Harry stuttered, his chattering teeth making speech a problem.

"I'm sure you will." Draco cradled the cat to his chest and wrapped his cloak around the cold animal. "Now if you're quite done playing in the snow, we'll go to Diagon Alley."

He turned on his heel and strode purposefully to the gates to apparate. He was sure Harry would have made some smart-ass comeback if he hadn't been shivering hard enough to make Draco's hands quiver.

--

Diagon Alley was as busy as always. And although shopping took far longer then anticipated, Draco didn't mind in the least. Harry whispered into his ear every chance the cat got, remarking on random witches and wizards.

"What are you going to do when you're back to normal?" Draco asked as they sat at Fortesques.

Harry looked up from his small bowl of ice cream and said, "I'm going back to teaching, of course."

Draco sighed. "That's not what I meant. What are you going to do first?"

"Take a really long bath," Harry said with a blissful expression. "And eat some actual food, not these little snip bits I've been getting. Then I might go for a fly. I miss my broom."

"There you are!" Hermione dropped into the seat next to Harry and kissed his nose. "I've been looking for you two."

"Why?" the cat asked, scrambling into her lap.

"I found out that we can go ahead and use the potion on Sunday, we don't have to wait until Monday!"

"Really?! That's great!"

Draco pressed his lips together before going back to his own ice cream. For some reason the thought of moving a head of schedule bothered him. He watched Harry out of the corner of his eye, realizing that he knew what every small movement meant. The steady thumping against Hermione's leg with his tail meant he was happy she was around. As the subject turned to Ron's Auror training, one ear drooped ever so slightly; Harry apparently didn't like the subject matter.

_When did I begin to remember all these small things?_ Draco wondered.

_When you started caring about him,_ said the voice with annoying glee.

"Draco!"

"Huh?" He blinked rapidly and frowned. Harry was standing right under his nose, looking rather cross. "What?"

"You haven't been listening at all, have you?"

Draco chuckled and ran his thumb across the cat's cheek. "No, not really."

"I was telling Hermione that we'd probably need an explanation for me being gone or so long. Think the Minister will actually let me use the Aurors as an excuse?"

"I don't see why not." Draco said. "You're Harry Potter after all, the Minister would do anything for you."

Harry nodded and went back to sit in Hermione's lap.

The door of the shop opened and what looked like a Harry Potter double strolled in, smiling brightly at everyone, but keeping his eyes trained on the blonde. In passing he ordered a strawberry milkshake from the young witch behind the counter. He straddled a chair backwards and grinned at Potter-cat.

"You really do make a cute cat." Double-Potter said, petting Harry. "All right, Malfoy?"

"Been better," Draco said, leaning back in his chair. "Which one are you then?"

"Ouch," Potter clutched at his chest. "That hurts. You can't even recognize me?"

Hermione slapped Potter's arm and giggled. "George, that's enough," she whispered.

Draco bit the inside of his cheek. He should have known it was the older Weasley. The other one wouldn't have been able to help himself from stealing a kiss from the brunette.

"After this is all over, I want to have a chat with you, Malfoy," George said after he was nearly done with his shake.

"Oh? And what makes you think I'll listen?"

"A business prospective," George said, smiling brightly. Draco thought the smile looked wrong somehow. Probably because Harry wasn't the one smiling.

"Business prospective?"

"Yes. I want to get my hands on that potion you used on our Harry. But I won't have the time to brew them. Since you know how, I figured you could help me out."

Hermione's brows knitted together. "And what would you use them for?"

George shrugged. "New Merchandise," He reached over and patted her hand. "You wouldn't approve. Well, I'm off. I have a very enchanting woman to meet."

George rose so quickly, Hermione didn't have a chance to scold him. Instead she turned around in her seat, making sure no one else was in the shop, and called after him, "Stop acting like George! You're getting a bad reputation!"

Harry moaned and dropped his head on the table with a dull thud.

--

"Today's the day," Harry said, stretching and snuggling closer to Draco.

"Mmhmm," the blonde hummed in agreement. He pulled Harry closer to his chest, grateful for Sunday mornings. It was nice not having anything to do in the early morning hours.

"When do you think 'Mione will be here?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe we could floo her?" the cat said after a while.

"God, Potter! Can you not enjoy spending Sunday morning just in bed?" Draco asked.

Harry gave him a pleading look. "I just want to be human again," he said with a pout.

Draco groaned and buried his face in his pillow. Why did he have to feel like this? Three weeks ago he wouldn't have cared if Harry wanted to contact Granger the second he woke up. Now however…

"All right, all right," he mumbled into the pillow. "I'll floo Granger. Can I lie here for another five minutes?"

He felt Harry climb onto his back and stretch out, his nose right next to Draco's ear. "Of course you can. But only five minutes."

When he rose to contact Granger, Harry trotted happily after him, chattering about something. Draco rolled his eyes and threw a hand full of floo powder into the fireplace. He said Granger's name and stuck his head into the fire.

"Ouch!"

The blonde landed backwards on his butt. He rubbed his forehead and blinked into the fireplace. Hermione's head blinked up at him.

"What the hell was that about, Granger?"

"I'm sorry, but how was I supposed to know that you'd floo me at the same time? Oh, 'morning, Harry!" she trilled.

"Morning. Are you ready?" the cat asked, tail swishing from side to side.

"Of course I am!" she said. Her head disappeared and a moment later she stepped through the fire. "I've been waiting for hours to hear a word from you two."

Harry turned his head and glared at Draco. The blonde raised his hands in a 'don't look at me' gesture and hurried to fetch his robe. He had a feeling this would be another one of those stubbornly long days.

"Can I laugh if your hair color doesn't go back to normal?" he asked the cat as they walked to his office.

"No! That would be horrible. I like my hair color."

Draco pursed his lips. With a snicker he said, "I think I'll laugh anyways."


	12. The Human Side of Things

**Authors Note:** Just one chapter to go!

_Chapter 12  
The Human Side of Things_

Draco rounded a corner and danced around a group of students, trying not to knock any of them down. His pray ran around a corner, darting back and forth between the legs of the students that crowded the great hall. It bolted up the stairs and around another corner to dash down one of the halls. Draco skidded sideways on the floor tiles, his robes flaring out behind him only to tangle over his legs. With a frustrated shout, the blonde pulled them off and let them fall to the floor. He'd pick them up later.

His pray looked over its shoulder and yipped, sprinting forward even harder. Draco snarled and rushed after it, thanking the stars that the hall was deserted.

"One way or another, I'm gonna getcha, Potter!" he shouted, raising his wand. A silver net shot out its tip, landing only a hairsbreadth away from the cat's tail.

Harry yelped and skidded to the left, wiggling his way under the banister of a set of stairs. Draco vaulted over the whole thing, landing in a heavy crouch on the other side. Pain shot up his right leg and he winced. The stairs had been higher off the ground then he had first thought.

He could see Harry only a few yards away, frantically looking left and right, looking for another escape. There were none. They were both on the lowest level of the castle so there was nowhere to run.

Draco stalked over to the cat—limping a bit as he went—a devilish sneer on his face. Harry backed against the hall, hissing furiously. Draco laughed and bent down, hand extended. The cat sat up on his hunches and with extended front claws attacked the blonde's hand. Draco yelped but didn't back away. Instead he curled his hand around the nape of Harry's neck and lifted the stiff cat off the ground.

"Now what are you going to do?" he asked, turning around and walking to the nearest stairs. "And to think all of this could have been avoided."

"You can't do this to me!" Harry screamed. "Hermione won't let you!"

"Actually," Draco said. "She's the one that suggested it. So stop fighting me!"

"I wasn't fighting you! I was trying to save myself!" Harry said, his front paws still stiffly held out in front of himself. He hated that cat's could be subdues so easily.

"Weren't fighting me?!" Draco asked. "Then what the hell is this?" He shoved his left arm in front of Harry's face. Angry scratch marks stood out sharply against his pale skin. Some of them were still bleeding. It looked horrible.

"Marks of self defense!" Harry pouted.

"Well, they didn't get you very far, now did they? You're getting that bath, regardless."

By the time they came back to the robes Draco had shed, Harry's screams of protest had turned into loud screeching and yowling. The students that had followed their crazed professor looked at the cat with wide eyes, but said nothing. Smart kids, Draco thought.

--

Hermione huffed again. She crouched in front of Harry's enraged face and said, "You're being ridiculous. It's only a bath. You take them all the time."

"Yeah, when I'm human!" Harry retorted, all four limbs stretched across the little tub on the floor of Draco's office. The tension in his muscles made his body shake, but he'd be damned if he would move a single inch.

Draco stood above him, pushing down on his back. He didn't want to hurt Harry, but the cat was making it pretty hard for him. "Fine!" he said, releasing his hold. "You either get into that tub, or I'll body bind you. Your choice, Potter."

"You wouldn't dare," said Harry over his shoulder.

"Oh, watch me," Draco growled with an evil sneer. He pulled his wand out of the back pocket of his trousers, rolled his sleeves high up on his arms, and raised the wand threateningly. "You have 'till the count of three."

"Why can't I just drink the potion?" Harry asked Hermione quickly.

"One."

"Because unfortunately you can't drink it." the brunette answered.

"Two."

"How about injecting me? Can't you do that?" He whimpered as Hermione shook her head.

"Three. Times up, Potter. Pertificus Totalus!"

Harry's body went ridged. He tilted to the left and Draco's hand shot out to catch him. Petting Harry between the shoulder blades, he placed the cat into the tub of potion. It reached all the way to his chin.

"Now is this so bad, Harry?" he asked, pouring the liquid over the cat's fur until it glistened like spilled ink.

Hermione giggled and bent down to help the blonde. She scratched Harry under the chin to calm him down and rubbed the potion into his fur with the other hand. Soon he was covered in blue subs. Draco vanished the potion and filled the tub with warm clear water. By the time they were done rinsing the cat, the water was tinted navy blue.

Draco wrapped the cat in a towel and said, "Now if you promise not to attack myself or Granger, I'll take the spell off you. Blink once for okay, twice for no."

The cat blinked three times. Hermione knitted her eyebrows together in confusion. "What does that mean?" she asked.

"That he's being a hard ass. I'm only going to ask you once more. Stay like this for all I care. Are you going to promise not to attack Granger or me?"

Harry blinked once, slowly. Draco thought the gesture seemed a bit threatening. Pushing his thoughts aside, he placed Harry on the floor and canceled the spell. The cat glared at both of them before slinking off and disappearing down the hall.

"Where do you think he's going?" Hermione asked, already gathering her cloak.

"Probably back to my room to sulk. He'll hide under the bed until he's hungry. How long till the potion takes affect?"

Hermione looked at her watch and shrugged. "I give it an hour, tops. Keep an eye on him, please? We don't want him running along any rafters when he becomes our Harry again. Have a good one, Malfoy."

He escorted Granger back to the fireplace and watched her floo back home. After unrolling his sleeves he tucked his wand into his back pocket, scooped up his own cloak and went to find Harry.

--

The cat was nowhere to be found. Draco walked briskly down the hallways, worrying away on his thumbnail. It was nearly chewed down to the bone. In fifteen minutes the hour would be up. If all went well, Harry would be human again by then, if he wasn't already. He quickened his pace.

He stepped out into one of the court yards, shivering as a blast of cold air hit him squarely in the chest. Draco bit his lip and trudged on. How the weather had turned from early spring to blizzard, he had no idea. But if Harry was out here, it could not be good for him.

"Have you seen Cosmos?" he asked a group of students as they rushed by.

One of them stopped and shook his head. "No sir. We could help you look for him if you'd like."

Draco waved the boy away. "No, thank you. But if you happen to come across him, please let me know at once. Now get inside before you catch your death out here." He hissed bitterly to the student.

As the blonde poked through the various shrubs around the courtyard, it began to snow. The cold passed through his clothes and bit into his skin. Standing up from a crouch, he wrapped his arms around himself and shivered.

A rustle behind him caught his attention and he sprinted across the snow-covered lawn. He realized it could be a squirrel or a bird, caught off guard by the sudden change in weather. But he had to make sure.

Mrs. Norris looked up at him with large eyes, a dead bird in her mouth. The blonde sighed and said, "You wouldn't by any chance know where Potter has gone of to, huh?" The cat blinked once and scurried away. "I didn't think so."

He brushed the snow off his knees and hurried back into the castle. There wasn't much point in getting the flu if Harry wasn't even outside. He stormed through the hallways, stopping random students. None of them had seen the cat or Potter for that matter.

Draco stood in the middle of the seventh floor hallway, hands on his hips, looking around while thinking of what to do next. His feet were beginning to hurt from all the walking he had done. Who would have guessed that Hogwarts was actually that big?

"Damn it, Potter! Where the hell are you?"

He turned around to walk back when he saw a small door from the corner of his eye. The blonde wrinkled his eyebrows together. That door had not been there earlier, of that he was sure. He knocked on it anyways. No responds. Trying the door handle, he found it to be unlocked. Draco pushed the door open and peered inside.

The room was small and bare exceptfor a single armchair in front of a fireplace. There were no lamps or sconces on the walls to aid the fire light with illuminating the dark.

Draco stepped into the room, wand drawn. He carefully looked around, ready for anything to jump out at him. With his back near the wall he slowly walked around the armchair and stopped short. A very human Harry Potter lay naked on a rug in front of the fire, fast asleep. He was curled into a ball, one arm tucked under his head as a pillow.

Draco lowered his wand and edged towards Harry. His shoe bumped against the chair's leg, waking the sleeping Wizard. He blinked sleep from his eyes and looked around in a daze. Finally his eyes rested on the blonde and a lazy smile broke out on his lips. Draco gulped and took a step back - that smile was rather sexy.

"Hey Draco," Harry muttered. He yawned and stretched out as if he were still a cat, rolling onto his back.

Draco averted his eyes. That was more of Potter then he ever needed to see. Not that he minded it terribly. Although the other man hadn't played Quidditch in a while, his body was still toned with lean muscles. He had even managed to get a tan, making him took a bit exotic.

Draco's imagination went wild, as he thought of all the things he could do with that body. What he could do to it. He bit the inside of his cheek forcefully as the heat of a blush crept up his neck.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked.

"You're, er, human again."

"Really? Oh… Draco, uhm, conjure me some robes, please?"

With his eyes still glued to the floor, the blonde waved his wand. Once he was sure Harry was actually dressed, he looked back up. Much better.

"So why are you here?" he finally asked, dropping into the armchair.

"Well, I was looking for a place to fume, and this cat door suddenly just appeared. I went in, saw the fireplace and thought it was as good a place to brood as any."

Draco rolled his eyes. "And you didn't think that this could be a trap of some sort?"

Harry smacked his forehead. "You're absolutely right. I should have realized that someone would wait until today to attack. How silly of me." He smirked at his companion.

Draco rose to his feet with a frown. "All right, smart ass. Let's get you to Snape. He'll be happy to know that he can get rid of that substitute. You can walk, right?"

"Of course I can walk," Harry huffed.

He slowly rose to his feet, took two steps and swayed to the side. Draco was quickly at this side, one warm wrapped around his waist to keep him upright. Harry tried again, but only succeeded by leaning heavily on the other man.

"Wow, my center of gravity is really different now," Harry said with a chuckle. "I'm so used to walking on four legs and having a tail for extra balance."

"So you can't walk."

Harry shook his head. "Not very well."

Draco heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. _It's like hanging out with a toddler,_ he thought. "All right, we'll just have to re-teach you."

Harry's lips turned up into a wicked grin. "Are you going to do the whole 'Come to Draco' thing parents do when their children learn to walk?"

"No. But I will poke you with a stick if you don't start walking. Now get a move on it. Left, right, left, right."

"Otay, Uncle Dwaco."

"Potter!"


	13. Can't sleep without you

**Authors Note:** After a lot of muse kicking I finally got around to finishing Chapter 13. Sooo...TADA! xD

**Notice:** I wasn't sure anymore if a chapter containing smut would be appropriate for this story. So I wrote the chapter twice, with different endings. If you want smut then keep reading this chapter. If you'd rather just have the insinuation of smut, then go read the next one. ) As always, reviews are loved. And if you read both versions, I'd love to know which one you liked better.

_Chapter 13  
Can't Sleep Without You_

"Enter."

Draco's office door eased open and Potter stepped through, a pleasant smile on his face. He marched across the room and stood before the desk, resting his weight casually on one leg. Draco looked him up and down and couldn't help but think that the ex-Auror looked amazing. Or maybe it was just his state of relaxation.

"I see you're back to walking on two feet without wobbling," he said.

Harry chuckled. "Yeah. Took me a while, though."

"Any lingering side effects?"

"Kind of," said Harry. "I'm still coughing up fur balls, my sleep pattern is totally off, and every time I see a mouse I want to chase it. But it's nothing that won't go away."

"Glad to hear it. Now why are you here, Harry? I'm guessing it's not just to chat?"

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. I came to say thank you, and to say goodbye."

Draco's quill dropped out of his hand, landing tip first on the sheets of parchment he was correcting. Red ink strayed everywhere in harsh, angry lines. The blonde blinked at the other man. "Pardon?"

"I'm going on vacation for a week. Snape thought it would be a good idea, give me a chance to work out the rest of my kinks."

"Oh." An odd feeling swelled up inside Draco's chest. It was almost like disappointment. Swallowing, he pushed the feeling down.

"Anyway, I'll see you next Wednesday, then." Harry turned around and walked back to the door. Just as he was about to step out he turned around. "And thanks again." And then he was gone.

--

Draco rolled over in bed and felt around for the little lump of fur. His fingers only touched the duvet and empty air. He frowned and opened one sleepy eye. The cat was nowhere to be found. Reality slammed back into him and he remembered that Harry was human again and on vacation.

Grumbling under his breath, he turned over again and tried to fall back asleep. It didn't work. He spent the next three hours of Thursday morning staring at his bedroom ceiling, arms tucked under his head. Every few minutes he raised his head slightly, thinking he heard Potter-cat scratching at his door. Twenty minutes before he had to get up, he wrenched the covers off himself and got to his feet.

The castle was surprisingly quiet at the early hour, the Great Hall completely deserted. The blonde made his way to the teacher's table and sat down at his seat since he had not much else to do. His left hand strayed down to dangle at his side, expecting Harry's head to rub against it eventually. With a groan he let his head drop on the table.

"Jesus, what the fuck is _wrong _with me?!"

One of the house elves popped up beside him. "Would Professor Malfoy like some coffee while he waits?"

Draco shifted his head slightly to look at the creature. "Yeah, I guess. Thank you."

The elf frowned. "Professor Malfoy really shouldn't pout so. It makes him look childish. Plus, Professor Potter will come back in a week. So chin up!" The elf patted his arm and smiled at him. With a soft pop it was gone.

"I do not look childish!" the blonde shouted, not sure if the elf could even still hear him.

--

By the time Saturday morning rolled around, Draco could have been classified as one of the living dead.

Dark circles crowded under his eyes; stealing some of their sparkle. His usually put together hair stuck out in odd angles, which was actually the result of him running his hand through it too many times. The man's appearance was even causing Snape to be concerned.

"Draco," the headmaster said. "You look horrible. What the hell is going on with you? Have you turned to drinking? Should I contact an AA group for you?"

Draco snorted. "I'm not drinking. I'm not sleeping either, if you must know. Thanks to you sticking Har—Potter with me during the nights, I can't sleep unless there is something warm in bed with me!" He shouted the last words. "Thanks a lot."

Snape raised both eyebrows in thought. Then he wrinkled them together and said, "I'm… sorry?"

"You're… I should… I… _ugh_!" Draco stormed out the office, slamming the door after him. He seemed to be doing that a lot these days.

The sleep deprivation he had been feeling since Thursday turned into raging anger. How dare Potter do this to him? After all he had done for the bastard. As if it wasn't bad enough that Potter didn't know how to properly apologize for being such a pest for four months. Now he had to steal Draco's sleep as well. The blonde stormed into his room and stood in the middle of the bedroom, not sure what to do now.

His question was answered when the door of his living quarters opened again, admitting a sour looking Harry. Draco wasn't sure if it was the lack of sleep that screwed with his vision, or if Potter really did look twice as horrible as he had when he had left. Dark circles were under his eyes too, although they didn't look as bad against his slightly tanned skin.

"Were you really on vacation, Potter? You look like shit."

Harry sneered at him. "Do I? Great! That means I look better then I feel. Which is all your fucking fault, I might add."

Draco raised one eyebrow. "_My_ fault? How the fuck is your looking the way you do my fault?"

"Because I couldn't sleep. Which is _your_ fault as well."

"Oh? And how, pray tell?"

Harry was across the room and in the bedroom in five long strides. He was nearly flush with the other man's chest and glared down at him as he spoke. "Because I can't sleep without you."

Before Draco could think of something to say, Harry wrapped an arm around the blonde man's waist and pulled him into a heated kiss.

The protest that had sat on his lips melted away. The lips pressed against his own were warm and soft, and everything he had imagined they would be and then some. He moaned softly, leaning against Harry a little. He snaked one hand upward and into the mess of black hair. If felt even softer then the fur. Harry tightened his own grip on the blonde and deepened the kiss, his tongue begging for entrance. With another low moan, Draco was more then willing to grant the other man's wish.

"Jesus," Harry breathed once they finally broke apart, resting his forehead against Draco's.

"Yeah," Draco whispered.

"I've wanted to do that for a while now."

"Hmm."

"I hate to admit it, but gods I've missed you."

A strange feeling bloomed inside Draco's stomach. It took him only a second to realize it was relief. Relief that his feelings weren't one sided, that Harry had actually missed him. _Him!_

"I missed you too," he admitted.

With a low growl, Harry walked him backwards until the back of Draco's knees collided with the bed, and both men toppled onto it. Harry claimed Draco's lips again, sliding his hand up the blonde's shirt to trail his fingers lightly over the pale skin.

Draco gasped, breaking the kiss, and arched his back off the bed. Harry shifted his head and chuckled against Draco's neck, sending shivers down his spine. He removed his hand and began working on the buttons of Draco's shirt, nibbling on his ear.

Draco frowned. He was rarely on the bottom, and even then it was only if the sex was amazing to begin with. He wrapped his legs around the other man's hips and flipped them over. Harry blinked up at him, clearly surprised. Chuckling, he sat up and slid the unbuttoned shirt off Draco's shoulders. They made quick work of the rest of their clothes. Only when Harry lay naked underneath the blonde did he stop to think.

He wanted the other wizard badly enough that it made his lower regions uncomfortable. But he didn't want Harry to regret his actions in the morning. He opened his mouth to protest, to back-paddle his way out of the situation, but Harry gave him no chance.

He hooked one hand behind the blonde's head and pulled him down for a fierce kiss. Wrapping his legs around Draco's hips he pulled him down, rubbing their erections together. Draco gasped into Harry's mouth. _Bloody hell_ that felt amazing.

"I want you," Harry breathed into his ear, sounding sexier then was probably legal. "Now."

Draco happily obliged.

He wiggled his way out from between Harry's legs. The other wizard groaned in frustration as the delicious friction lessened, but gasped in delight as Draco's mouth enveloped his cock, and a pale hand slid further down to massage his ass.

Without stopping his assault on Harry's manhood—a series of alternating licks, sucks, and nips—Draco cast a lubrication charm on his fingers and caressed the ring of tight muscles at Harry's entrance. They loosened gradually, only to tighten back up when Draco slowly inserted another finger. Harry moaned and arched his hips upwards. Draco chuckled, eliciting a strangled groan from the man underneath him. With a final suck, Draco removed his fingers and crawled slowly back up, planting soft kisses over Harry's stomach and chest as he went.

"Ready?" he asked, nibbling on Harry's bottom lip. A heated kiss was his only answer.

He shifted positions, grabbed Harry's hips for a better angle and slowly moved forward. Harry moaned low in his throat and shifted his hips upward even more, taking as much of Draco in as he could. They lay still for a moment while the brunette adjusted.

Draco linked his fingers with Harry's, his eyes resting on the green leather bracelet adorned the skin of his right wrist. At least it looked like a bracelet. Draco leaned closer and his breath caught in his throat. Light twinkled off the small silver charm attacked to the leather, and he realized it was the collar his mother had bought Harry.

"I didn't want to lose it," Harry explained at the confused look in Draco's eyes. "But it would have looked stupid had I worn it around my neck. This is much better, don't you think?"

Draco grinned and leaned down to press his lips against Harry's again for a brief moment. "I think it's perfect," he mumbled against his mouth.

He pulled out suddenly and moved back in smoothly. Harry wiggled underneath him in pleasure, creating more friction. Draco gripped the man's hips to stop the movement. Harry was just so tight and warm! He picked up the pace and reached down to stroke Harry's cock in time with his own thrusts.

"God—that's—oh," Harry's words were broken off abruptly as an orgasm rocked through this body.

The muscles around Draco clenched tightly, making the next thrust the last one. He bit his bottom lip to keep from crying out as he came.

Boneless, he collapsed on top of Harry, mustering up just enough strength to roll to the side a little. Both men hissed as Draco slid out of Harry.

"Holy… shit…" Harry breathed, rolling over to face Draco and throwing one arm over the pale waist.

Draco chuckled and snuggled into the warm of Harry's chest. He smelled so good, like soap, sweat, and—strangely enough—peppermint. The exhaustion he had been fighting for half a week suddenly came crashing down on him. He stifled a yawn by pressing his face into the crook of Harry's neck. Muttering under his breath, he cleaned them off with a spell and summoned the duvet just in time before sleep crawled over him.

--

A pale hand skated over the silk sheets of the bed, searching for the extra body that should have been there. Instead the fingertips touched soft, warm, fur. Draco's eyes flew open, and he stared in horror at the black cat that lay on his covers.

He sat bolt upright, his mind racing. Had the potion not worked? But that was impossible, he had seen—and fucked—a very human Harry Potter just the night before. What if it was only a temporary solution to the problem? Would Harry have to bath in the liquid for the rest of his life? Draco whimpered at the thought of seeing a fat, old cat waddling along the London streets because Harry, in his senile old age, had forgotten to bath.

"Harry?" he asked, poking the cat gently in the shoulder.

The cat opened one lazy eye, the emerald orb looking at Draco with distaste. It closed its eye, yawned, and rolled over to go right back to sleep.

"I see you've met Cosmos," came a husky voice from the bedroom door.

Draco turned his head around so quickly he practically cracked several bones. His discomfort was forgotten as his eyes rested on Harry. He wore only Draco's boxers and carried a steaming cup in his hand. Relief washed over the blonde.

"Brought you some coffee," Harry said, walking cross the room like he owned it.

Draco murmured his thanks as he took the cup and after a few sips turned his attention back to the cat. "This is Cosmos?"

"Yes. I figured it would be strange if I came back and the cat was suddenly gone. So I picked this one up while on vacation." Harry sat on the bed and stroked the cat's head with two fingers.

Draco looked at the cat and smiled. Those that didn't know wouldn't be able to tell the difference between this cat and the way Harry had looked. They were identical down to the white tuff of hair. The new Cosmos even had a green leather collar around his neck.

"I see you even thought about the collar," Draco commented, taking another sip of coffee.

Harry snorted. "Of course. I wasn't about to give mine to a cat." He stretched out on the bed, tucking his hands behind his head. "So, I was thinking, that since we both lost so much sleep in the past few days, we should just stay here for today… maybe even tomorrow."

Draco set his cup down and crawled across to sit on Harry's lap. He planted his hands on either side of Harry's head and leaned down for a kiss. "Potter, I think that is the best idea you've had in years."


	14. Can't sleep without you 2

**Authors Note:** Well, here is the milder version of Chatper 13; no smut, just the insinuation of it. Reviews are loved. 3

_Chapter 13  
Can't Sleep Without You_

"Enter."

Draco's office door eased open and Potter stepped through, a pleasant smile on his face. He marched across the room and stood before the desk, resting his weight casually on one leg. Draco looked him up and down and couldn't help but think that the ex-Auror looked amazing. Or maybe it was just his state of relaxation.

"I see you're back to walking on two feet without wobbling," he said.

Harry chuckled. "Yeah. Took me a while, though."

"Any lingering side effects?"

"Kind of," said Harry. "I'm still coughing up fur balls, my sleep pattern is totally off, and every time I see a mouse I want to chase it. But it's nothing that won't go away."

"Glad to hear it. Now why are you here, Harry? I'm guessing it's not just to chat?"

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. I came to say thank you, and to say goodbye."

Draco's quill dropped out of his hand, landing tip first on the sheets of parchment he was correcting. Red ink strayed everywhere in harsh, angry lines. The blonde blinked at the other man. "Pardon?"

"I'm going on vacation for a week. Snape thought it would be a good idea; give me a chance to work out the rest of my kinks."

"Oh." An odd feeling swelled up inside Draco's chest. It was almost like disappointment. Swallowing, he pushed the feeling down.

"Anyway, I'll see you next Wednesday, then." Harry turned around and walked back to the door. Just as he was about to step out he turned around. "And thanks again." And then he was gone.

--

Draco rolled over in bed and felt around for the little lump of fur. His fingers only touched the duvet and empty air. He frowned and opened one sleepy eye. The cat was nowhere to be found. Reality slammed back into him and he remembered that Harry was human again and on vacation.

Grumbling under his breath, he turned over again and tried to fall back asleep. It didn't work. He spent the next three hours of Thursday morning staring at his bedroom ceiling, arms tucked under his head. Every few minutes he raised his head slightly, thinking he heard Potter-cat scratching at his door. Twenty minutes before he had to get up, he wrenched the covers off himself and got to his feet.

The castle was surprisingly quiet at the early hour, the Great Hall completely deserted. The blonde made his way to the teacher's table and sat down at his seat since he had not much else to do. His left hand strayed down to dangle at his side, expecting Harry's head to rub against it eventually. With a groan he let his head drop on the table.

"Jesus, what the fuck is _wrong_ with me?!"

One of the house elves popped up beside him. "Would Professor Malfoy like some coffee while he waits?"

Draco shifted his head slightly to look at the creature. "Yeah, I guess. Thank you."

The elf frowned. "Professor Malfoy really shouldn't pout so. It makes him look childish. Plus, Professor Potter will come back in a week. So chin up!" The elf patted his arm and smiled at him. With a soft pop it was gone.

"I do not look childish!" the blonde shouted, not sure if the elf could even still hear him.

--

By the time Saturday morning rolled around, Draco could have been classified as one of the living dead.

Dark circles crowded under his eyes, stealing some of their sparkle. His usually put together hair stuck out in odd angles, which was actually the result of him running his hand through it too many times. The man's appearance was even causing Snape to be concerned.

"Draco," the headmaster said. "You look horrible. What the hell is going on with you? Have you turned to drinking? Should I contact an AA group for you?"

Draco snorted. "I'm not drinking. I'm not sleeping either, if you must know. Thanks to you sticking Har—Potter with me during the nights, I can't sleep unless there is something warm in bed with me!" He shouted the last words. "Thanks a lot."

Snape raised both eyebrows in thought. Then he wrinkled them together and said, "I'm… sorry?"

"You're… I should… I… _ugh_!" Draco stormed out the office, slamming the door after him. He seemed to be doing that a lot these days.

The sleep deprivation he had been feeling since Thursday turned into raging anger. How dare Potter do this to him? After all he had done for the bastard. As if it wasn't bad enough that Potter didn't know how to properly apologize for being such a pest for four months. Now he had to steal Draco's sleep as well. The blonde stormed into his room and stood in the middle of the bedroom, not sure what to do now.

His question was answered when the door of his living quarters opened again, admitting a sour looking Harry. Draco wasn't sure if it was the lack of sleep that screwed with his vision, or if Potter really did look twice as horrible as he had when he had left. Dark circles were under his eyes too, although they didn't look as bad against his slightly tanned skin.

"Were you really on vacation, Potter? You look like shit."

Harry sneered at him. "Do I? Great! That means I look better then I feel. Which is all your fucking fault, I might add."

Draco raised one eyebrow. "My fault? How the fuck is your looking the way you do _my_ fault?"

"Because I couldn't sleep. Which is your fault as well."

"Oh? And how, pray tell?"

Harry was across the room and in the bedroom in five long strides. He was nearly flush with the other man's chest and glared down at him as he spoke. "Because I can't sleep without you."

Before Draco could think of something to say, Harry wrapped an arm around the blonde man's waist and pulled him into a heated kiss.

The protest that had sat on his lips melted away. The lips pressed against his own were warm and soft, and everything he had imagined they would be and then some. He moaned softly, leaning against Harry a little. He snaked one hand upward and into the mess of black hair. If felt even softer then the fur. Harry tightened his own grip on the blonde and deepened the kiss, his tongue begging for entrance. With another low moan, Draco was more then willing to grant the other man's wish.

"Jesus," Harry breathed once they finally broke apart, resting his forehead against Draco's.

"Yeah," Draco whispered.

"I've wanted to do that for a while now."

"Hmm."

"I hate to admit it, but _gods _I've missed you."

A strange feeling bloomed inside Draco's stomach. It took him only a second to realize it was relief. Relief that his feelings weren't one sided, that Harry had actually missed him. _Him!_

"I missed you too," he admitted.

With a low growl, Harry walked the blonde backwards until his knees hit the foot of his bed and both men toppled onto it. Harry leaned down to kiss a hot path along Draco's neck as he worked on the buttons of the green shirt.

_I could definitely get used to this, _Draco thought as Harry raised him up a little to slide the shirt off his shoulders.

--

One pale hand skated over the silk sheets, searching for the extra warm body that should be there. Instead the fingers encountered soft and warm fur. Draco's eyes snapped open and he stared with mortification at the black cat that was fast asleep next to him.

"Harry?" Draco asked, poking the cat gently in the shoulder.

It opened one emerald green eye and regarded him with distasted. Yawning, the cat stretched, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

The muscle under Draco's right eye twitch. He let out a small squeak and swallowed hard. The potion had worked, he had seen it himself. And he was positive that he had touched a very human Harry Potter just a few hours ago.

_Maybe the potion wore off,_ Draco thought, raking his hands through his hair. _What if it's only temporary relief?_ Moaning he turned over in bed and pressed the heels of his hands over his eyes.

"I shouldn't hear that sound unless I'm in there with you," came a cocky voice from the doorway.

Draco jack-knifed into a sitting position. Harry stood in the doorway, a mug in one hand, the daily prophet in the other. He wore a sexy smile and not much else. The blonde's mouth began to dry up as his eyes strayed down…

"Brought you some coffee," Harry continued strolling into the room as if he owned it. He relinquished the mug and sat on the edge of the bed, smiling. "And I see you've met Cosmos."

"Cosmos?" Draco looked at the black cat.

"Yeah. I figured it would be odd if I came back and the cat was gone. So I bought you this one while on Vacation."

Draco leaned across and gently turned the cat over. It would definitely be mistaken for Harry. It was identical from the white tuff of fur, down to the green leather collar. Draco's lips turned into a small smile until he noticed the tag; this one was gold, not silver. The inscription had changed too. It was longer and the font was different. Minding the coffee, he leaned forward even more and squinted. _Cosmos, property of Draco Malfoy._

"You even thought to change the collar."

"Well, clearly. I wasn't going to give mine to a cat," Harry said, tossing the paper on the pile of their discarded clothes.

"Wha—?" Draco's eyes followed the motion of Harry's hand and landed on his right wrist where a green leather bracelet slid slowly forward. It was adorned with a small rectangular charm. Draco crawled across the bed and sat on Harry's lap, making both of them rather aware of their state of undress. He grabbed the other mans hand and looked at the bracelet. "Is this what I think it is?"

Harry nodded, resting one hand on Draco's hips. "I didn't want to lose it, but figured it would look strange if I walked around with a collar around my neck. This is better, right?"

Draco leaned in for a kiss and smiled. "It's perfect."


End file.
